ON THE ROAD AGAIN

International deployments aren’t new additions to the Deployed Logix repertoire of achievements, but one of our most recent endeavors took us to an exotic corner of the world in support of the United States’ coronavirus relief efforts abroad. We’re proud to be collaborating with the US Department of Defense’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) for a project that will strengthen hospital infrastructure in countries throughout Latin America. The project kicked off in Costa Rica with a donation of three complete field hospitals valued at more than $1.1 million. In the coming months, SOUTHCOM will distribute 24 hospitals to 11 countries throughout Latin America, funded through the command’s Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP).

One of three of the final shelter complexes currently deployed in Costa Rica.

PLAYERS IN A GLOBAL GAME FOR GOOD

Lieutenant Colonel Juan Francisco Mata (right), senior defense officer for SOUTHCOM in Costa Rica, said he is more proud than ever to wear his uniform and applauds the collective effort involved in making such a large donation possible. Colonel Mata hadn’t been back to his home state of Texas since before the pandemic prompted shutdowns in March.

SOUTHCOM is an institution within the US Department of Defense responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation between the US and Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. An average day for SOUTHCOM can include anything from high-volume narcotic interception, to intercontinental partnership development, to disaster relief. Essentially, SOUTHCOM exists to protect and serve the United States while supporting countries that request assistance from the US during trying times. Lieutenant Colonel Juan Francisco Mata of the US Army elaborated on the functionality of SOUTHCOM’s relief initiatives, saying: “One of our biggest efforts in Latin America is to brace nations to respond to a major disaster like what happened in Haiti with the earthquake in 2011. We are prepared to provide assistance for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis. The difference with COVID-19, is it’s all new. So, we work closely with governments to provide what the nation itself tells us is the biggest need.” In response to these requests back in March, the US Department of Justice developed a multi-phase agenda that began with the distribution of supplies, testing kits, and personal protective equipment to front line workers abroad. The first field hospital donations in Costa Rica marked the beginning of Phase Two, which focuses on adding capacity and emphasizing the importance of hospital preparedness via deployable assets.

Members of the DLX team, leadership from CCSS, and representatives from IFR pose prior to the donation ceremony. The US Embassy presented the field hospitals to the Costa Rican government on behalf of the American people.

Even so, shelters are just one piece of the deployment puzzle. Working with partners who are deeply involved in local processes is an equally important piece to ensure supplies get to where they are needed most. For this project, DLX and SOUTHCOM coordinated with Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), Costa Rica’s Social Security Fund. The institution oversees much of the country’s healthcare system because, according to the constitution of Costa Rica, human life is recognized as the most important good that can and should be guaranteed by the legal system. The resulting access to care is beneficial for Costa Ricans under ordinary circumstances, but in the face of a global pandemic gaps within the system have been exacerbated.  Nevertheless, the government entities that provide healthcare and their teams press on. CCSS deployed all of its emergency medical teams to participate in the COVID-19 response, including shelter training and deployment. Over a five-day period DLX Ambassadors trained CCSS EMTs on best practices for field hospital functionality, assembly, storage. CCSS had interacted with rapidly deployable shelters before, but it was their first time working with DLX products.

Industrial Fire and Rescue Equipment (IFR) also contributed to the kickoff of SOUTHCOM’s Phase Two by acting as a local point of contact for receiving hospitals. The company specializes in supplies for first responders and works closely with government institutions to better position the country for all types of emergencies. In describing IFR’s role in the project, business developer Reiner Romero said: “Anytime the end-user [in this case, CCSS and hospitals] has a request, it’s processed through our local team in Costa Rica, shaped into a draft, then shared and materialized with the DLX team. When the idea is modeled into something achievable, we work together to make it a reality and transform an idea into a solution that in this case, helps to save lives.” His statement gets right to the heart of why DLX and our allies are committed to the continual development of cutting-edge emergency response equipment with customer service to match – because we truly want to help.

COSTA RICA’S EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE

To get expert insight on Costa Rica’s healthcare system and its disaster medical initiatives I spoke with Dr. Mario Vílchez, Officer for the Emergency and Disaster Attention Center at CCSS. According to Dr. Vílchez, CCSS supervises all public hospitals in the country and is engaged with the logistics and finances required to provide healthcare. As it pertains to the COVID-19 response, CCSS acts as a coordinating group to oversee deployments of supplies, shelters, and personnel. The institution has worked tirelessly since early March 2020 to support its hospitals as the virus surges on, despie ongoing restrictions designed to slow the spread. Vílchez witnessed first-hand the stress this pandemic has created on Costa Rica’s medical system explaining how smaller hospitals have encountered both a lack of space and a lack of staff to accommodate the increased patient volume. If a hospital has only a few intensive care specialists and they become infected with COVID-19, the hospital is forced to transfer critically ill patients elsewhere. In spite of this additional challenge, CCSS has facilitated the transfer of more than 400 patients to hospitals throughout the country without a single death during transport. Dr. Vílchez managed to find another silver lining during our discussion, describing how hospitals that previously functioned independently began working together to share resources and coordinate the best possible care for COVID-positive patients.

CCSS teams are verified through the World Health Organization’s Emergency Medical Team Initiative, which emphasizes the importance of teamwork, training, and flexible equipment. WHO verified teams strive to provide quality care self-sufficiently.

The DLX rapid deployment shelters donated by SOUTHCOM will reduce the need to transport COVID-19 patients and perhaps more importantly, they will allow CCSS and its healthcare network to continue to provide a level of care that distinguishes Costa Rica’s healthcare system from others in Latin America. “When you deploy teams to take care of patients in an emergency situation, it’s important to fulfill an ethical standard in the quality of care. You need to make sure that the medical care you are providing in the field meets certain quality standards because the patients, no matter the emergency, deserve a quality treatment as is ethically and legally necessary,” said Dr. Vílchez. He went on to describe how field assets like our shelters create an environment in which the same standard of care available in a hospital can be achieved anywhere.

“Self-sufficient deployments are very important because you might take staff or equipment, but if you don’t have electricity, clean water, or a way to dispose of your medical waste then you are going to have a problem in that you will not be able to provide effective medical care.”

Each of the donated field hospitals can be arranged in numerous configurations to meet specific medical needs and varying patient volume.

DLX TRAINING – PANDEMIC EDITION 

The goal of this training, as with all DLX training courses, was to ensure personnel became well-versed in assembly procedures and felt confident going into the field with our equipment. On the first day, we went over the functionality of our water containment and distribution systems that provide water for handwashing sinks in each billeting. The next day was focused exclusively on electricity: setting up generators to power climate control technology and interior lighting. On day three DLX Ambassador Guillermo Echave showed a DLX walkthrough video to increase personnel confidence before they even laid hands on the shelters. After the instructional, it was time to start building. Three billetings were constructed that evening, followed by a central hub and fourth billeting the next morning. The last day of training was used to outfit the final shelter complex with climate control systems, flooring, medical beds, and lighting. On Tuesday of that week we began training in a massive, empty gymnasium. By Saturday that space had been completely transformed into a field hospital ready to be present to the Costa Rican government by the US Embassy.