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The movement of patients from a war zone to a hospital doesn’t
happen instantaneously; there are many stages between the departure
and arrival of those individuals to their final destination.
To assist with that journey, aerospace medical technicians with
the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group ensure their brothers and
sisters in the armed services are provided a safe and tranquil
environment while at Al Udeid AB.
Senior Airman Jordan
Marshall, an aerospace medical technician with the 379th EMDG
En-route Patient Staging Facility Team, explained that most patients
they receive from within the U.S. Central Command area of
responsibility, most commonly arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan,
have suffered from severe mental trauma, physical trauma, or both.
As aerospace medical technicians, it is their duty to get those
patients where they need to go without delays and monitor them
during their stay at the ERPSF to best help them recover.
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March 8, 2017 - Aerospace medical technicians with the 379th
Expeditionary Medical Group escort a patient from an aircraft at Al
Udeid Air Base, Qatar. These technicians are a key component of
transportation and support services between arrival and departure of
patients from around the U.S. Central Command area of
responsibility. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cynthia A.
Innocenti)
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“Sometimes we transport individuals who have experienced
severe stress and it is paramount that we remove that
individual from that stressful situation,” said Marshall.
“Other times the patient will have been severely wounded and
needs immediate medical attention that they may not have
access to where they are.”
One of the ways these
Airmen can track a patient’s needed movement is through a
computer program called “TRAC2ES,” the Transportation
Command Regulating and Command and Control Evacuation
System, that the Airmen check every hour, 24 hours a day.
TRAC2ES provides technicians like Marshall a way to
determine the number of patients inbound, their diagnosis,
and the classification of their injuries. The Single
Mobility System is also used by the team to monitor what
flight the patient is on.
Once they have determined
the patient’s needs, the Airmen will begin their
preparations for movement including bed assignments, meals
and type of care required once the patients are in the
ERPSF.
“We act as the middlemen between the combat
zone and a higher degree of care,” said Staff Sgt. Claire
Niba, also an aerospace medical technician with 379th EMDG.
“We are also a staging facility for patients transiting
through; we provide a calm and safe place in the ERPSF for
them to rest until departure.”
During the patient’s
transition, the technicians also serve as coordinators
between the various medical facilities and personnel who may
be involved with their recovery.
“Because not all of
our agencies like mental health and nurses from the ward are
in one building, we have to keep the communication flowing
between everyone involved so that if changes occur, we are
prepared,” said Niba.
The 16 technicians who make up
the team are Reserve Airmen deployed together from Dobbins
Air Reserve Base, Georgia. Since arriving here, their work
in the ERPSF has provided a lasting impression.
“As
reservists we haven’t all had hands on experience fulfilling
these types of missions,” said Master Sgt. Chanika Johnson,
flight chief of the ERPSF team. “Carrying out this mission
at Al Udeid has opened our eyes to the career field and
given me and my team a chance to help those in the field.”
“It is rewarding having the ability to care for our
brothers and sisters in the armed services,” added Niba.
While the time the team spends with patients is usually
short, they take every moment they can to keep those they
meet on the road to recovery.
By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Cynthia Innocenti
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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