Surgeons general testify on medical readiness at senate hearing
Air Force Maj. Michael Rawlins, 60th Surgical Operations Squadron, takes out a piece of stomach during a surgery at David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force by photo Louis Briscese)
WASHINGTON — The services’ surgeons general updated senators on Capitol Hill today on the needs and priorities of military health programs.
Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Nadja Y. West, Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) C. Forrest Faison III and Air Force Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Mark A. Ediger testified on the posture of the services’ medical departments at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee on the president’s fiscal year 2019 funding request for the Defense Department’s health program.
Army medicine is focusing on readiness, modernization and its people to support the priorities of the service’s leaders, West said.
“Readiness permeates everything we do and has two essential components: an Army that is ready and a medical force within our Army that is ready,” she told the senators. “And readiness begins with a fit and healthy Army that serves as the foundation of a strong national defense.”
Army medicine has incorporated lessons learned from military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to modify or create capabilities to better support warfighters’ needs, she said.
Such lessons, for example, led to the Army’s new expeditionary combat medic program and its expeditionary resuscitation surgery program, which is expected to decrease morbidity and mortality during high-intensity conflict, West said. “It will also increase our ability to provide prolonged battlefield care in the current and future environments we will be operating in,” she added.
Army medicine modernization efforts include partnering with academic institutions and industry to develop innovative solutions and counter measures to protect the force in any environment, she noted.
“The strength of our Army is our people,” West said. “The ability to recruit, develop, employ and retain our soldiers who are agile, adaptable, skilled medical professionals is vital for us to accomplish our mission.”
Readiness and Support
“Our greatest responsibility continues to be the readiness and support of a highly deployed Navy and Marine Corps team,” the Navy surgeon general said.
“Much of the success that we saw in saving lives on the battlefield during our most recent conflicts can be directly attributable to the heroic work of our first responders -- our corpsmen, medics and technicians,” Faison told the panel.
To address emerging challenges, the Navy surgeon general noted, Navy medicine has launched a comprehensive program targeted at preparing corpsmen to meet their lifesaving responsibilities and missions whether aboard a destroyer at sea or embedded with the Marine Corps in conflict.
Navy medicine continues to conduct worldwide research and development in support of its warfighters and their deployment readiness, he said. “These efforts range from trials of new malaria vaccine to assessing the threats of the newly discovered viruses in far-reaching corners of the world, he told the panel. “Our researchers are also directly engaged with the naval aviation community in conducting vital research aimed at understanding and mitigating physiologic episodes affecting air crew in tactical aircraft.”
Surgical Teams and Critical Care
Air Force medicine in 2017 revamped its surgical teams by changing their composition, training and equipment to increase independence and agility in coordination with the other services in the military health system, Ediger said.
“They are known as ground surgical teams consisting of only six airmen proven capable of trauma stabilization and damage control surgery in remote settings,” he explained. “We are building more ground surgical teams to increase our capacity to respond to the combatant commands.”
Critical care during medical air transportation has become transformational for medical support to combat operations, Ediger noted. “We are responding to a significant increase in operational requirements for critical care air medical transport teams by repurchasing end-strength into critical care skill sets.”
And to keep trauma and critical care teams ready, the Air Force implemented in 2017 standards for keeping deployable teams ready, specifying the annual frequency and mix of clinical procedures necessary to sustain readiness, he said.
Air Force medicine also increased its partnerships with premier institutions, which has resulted in highly effective readiness platforms for its trauma and critical care teams, the Air Force surgeon general said.
“We are working to implement a framework in close collaboration with the Army, Navy, Joint Staff and Defense Health Agency that will produce meaningful reform to health care delivery while implementing a new approach to sustaining a ready medical force,” Ediger said.
Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. Read original post.
New simulator preps WBAMC staff for OB emergencies
Article
5/1/2018
The state-of-the-art simulator provides medical staff up to various cutting-edge training scenarios
Occupational therapists showcase their grasp for your grip
Article
4/24/2018
Occupational therapists use a holistic approach to rehabilitate and treat physical, psychological and even emotional injuries
Ready, set, focus: Finding calm in a storm through the power of breathing
Article
4/23/2018
‘Mindful minutes’ and deep breathing help on the job, airmen say
RESET improves pediatric care
Article
4/18/2018
The aim of RESET is to improve access to care for the patient population
TRICARE Facts and Figures 2018
Infographic
4/17/2018
TRICARE Facts and Figures
Heat Illness
Infographic
4/13/2018
There were a total of 2,163 incident cases of heat illness among active component service members, including 464 cases of heat stroke and 1,699 cases of heat exhaustion.
Hyponatremia
Infographic
4/13/2018
Exertional, or exercise-associated, hyponatremia refers to a low serum, plasma, or blood sodium concentration (below 135 milliequivalents/liter) that develops during or up to 24 hours following prolonged physical activity.
Rhabdomyolysis
Infographic
4/13/2018
Global Influenza Summary: April 8, 2018
Report
4/8/2018
Cardiovascular Diseases
Infographic
4/4/2018
At the time of entry into military service, many members of the U.S. Armed Forces are young, physically active, and in good physical health. However, following entry, many service members develop or are discovered to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This report documents the incidence and prevalence of select risk factors for CVD ...
Mental Health Problems
Infographic
4/4/2018
This report summarizes the numbers, natures, and rates of incident mental health disorder diagnoses as well as mental health problems among active component U.S. service members during 2007–2016.
Global Influenza Summary: April 1, 2018
Report
4/1/2018
Eat an apple a day, but don't keep the dentist away
Article
3/27/2018
Good oral health takes more than brushing teeth and flossing – it also requires proper nutrition
Global Influenza Summary: March 25, 2018
Report
3/25/2018
Global Influenza Summary: March 18, 2018
Report
3/18/2018
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario