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HEIDELBERG, Germany — Though flights to and from many European countries have been grounded or canceled since April 15 due to high-flying volcanic ash from Iceland’s erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano, patients continue to receive quality medical care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
“All patients, including those from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in our intensive care unit, will continue to receive the best in medical and surgical care,” said Col. John M. Cho, LRMC commander. “Our staff is fully capable of sustaining the mission of providing world-class treatment for all who come to our facility.”
In addition to 30 or more patients undergoing elective operations each day and those already admitted to the hospital, 192 warriors specifically from OIF and OEF are being treated on an outpatient basis.
“We will continue to serve and meet the needs of all patients as we, like our European friends, wait out the effects of this unpredictable volcanic event,” Colonel Cho said.
Availability of medical supplies to customers in the European Command area of responsibility has not been degraded.
“Because we are a medical depot with a lot of supplies on-hand, there has been no significant impact on medical supply delivery to customers in the European Command area of responsibility,” said Col. William M. Stubbs, deputy commander for operations for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center Europe. “We are monitoring the situation closely, however, and using ground transportation when air delivery is unavailable.”
Though ash from the volcano eruption in Iceland may continue to disrupt air travel for a while, it poses low health risks to ERMC beneficiaries in Germany, Italy and Belgium.
“Public health concerns appear to be very low due to the high altitude of the ash cloud,” said Col. Evelyn Barraza, ERMC Preventive Medicine consultant.
However, Colonel Barraza said people who have a pre-existing respiratory condition such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma should contact their clinic or primary care manager if they notice a change in their health.
Information about health effects of volcanic ash is available at the U.S. Geological Survey Web site on volcanic ash at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/.
Colonel Barraza said the USGS information applies primarily to areas closer to significant volcanic activity.
The U.S. Army Public Health Command brochure, “Health Effects of Volcanic Ash and Gases,” is available at http://ermc.amedd.army.mil.
