Photo By Lance Cpl. Kasey Peacock | Indian Army Cpl. Vishwajit Singh examines samples through a microscope at a Level 2...... read more read more
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MUARA, Brunei Darussalam — Surgeons, doctors and nurses from the armed forces of India, Malaysia and the U.S. began providing care to simulated casualties at the Level 2 hospital site in Muara, Brunei Darussalam, June 18 during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (AHMX).
Along with treating the simulated casualties, medical professionals from India and Malaysia also provided medical services to more than 40 patients who volunteered for care.
“For the simulated casualties, we treated head and leg injuries as well as containing and housing the patients,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Cervantes, a public health nurse with the Tripler Army Medical Center. “While these casualties were only simulated, the importance of us practicing this is vital to our future success. When disaster strikes, you never know what kind of injuries you are going to get. We need to be able to work fast and efficiently with each other to provide the best possible care and billeting for the patients.”
For walk-in patients, Brunei community members were screened and admitted by Indian and Malaysian medical professionals and seen on the spot. Various medical services were provided and patients were seen for dental, common sicknesses and even minor surgeries that included cyst removals and circumcisions.
“It was a great opportunity to be able to not only participate in this exercise, but also treat patients who came in,” said Malaysia Lt. Col. Dr. Rajeswari Rajamanickam, an anesthetist with the Malaysian Army Hospital. “This has been my first opportunity to participate in an HA/DR exercise. I feel that it is very important for us all to work together in order to provide the best care. We are always looking for feedback and ways to improve our system.”
While U.S. medical professionals did not physically treat any of the patients, they shared their knowledge and experience with those who did in a combined effort to build camaraderie and improve upon teamwork capabilities.
“While our role in this exercise is small, we try to share our experiences and learn as much as we can from our medical counterparts,” said Cervantes.
During the exercise, simulated casualties are first taken to a Level 1 hospital near the disaster site. Once it is decided that they need further treatment, they are transported to the Level 2 facility which has trauma and surgical capabilities, according to Indian Maj. Yaduvir Singh, a surgeon.
“When a disaster happens, your Level 1 site is your first line of care,” said Yaduvir. “You need this establishment to be close to the disaster to provide the quickest care. When the patient is deemed necessary for further care, we can transport them to our Level 2 facility and continue with care. It is important that at each of those levels we are working together efficiently in order to provide the best care possible for the patient.”
Those participating in the exercise include personnel from the ASEAN-comprised nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; and other Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the U.S.
The exercise, which is scheduled from June 17 to 20, provides an opportunity for participating nations to hone their communication skills and learn from each other’s unique experiences and expertise, better preparing partner nations for a unified approach to future contingencies.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2013 22:44 |
| Story ID: | 108859 |
| Location: | MUARA, BN |
| Web Views: | 206 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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