SecondLife community developed to help train first responders for pandemic vaccine distribution

| 10.15.2007 | 12:39:039428 |

October 15 '07: A new online community has been launched to help train virtually first responders for a pandemic. Through the SecondLife platform, participants cant visit virtual hospitals to triage and treat victims of a pandemic using the Play2Train Open Content Alliance, according to Idaho's Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program, a project run by Idaho State University.

Play2Train was designed "to support [the] Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), Simple Triage Rapid Transportation (START), Risk Communication and Incidents Command System (ICS) Training," the IBAPP's website read. Users will be able to train "through interactive role playing and will be the foundation for our emergency preparedness education machinima."

On its website, the IBAPP said that by using the virtual space, responders, vendors, organizations and other participants who normally attend conferences "could use the virtual environments to present their wares to a large online audience and cut carbon emissions," as well as save money on travel expenses. Being online also allows participants to give their time without having to leave their locality but still learn in an atmosphere with their peers.

POCA, as the virtual pandemic training platform is known, "represents collaborative efforts to build a permanent self-sustaining archive of open source virtual worlds, including their content and applications to support public domain emergency preparedness training and exercises," the Alliance's website read.

Additional information about POCA can also be heard on this podcast. You may watch a video here