Medical conference empowers Fort Hood health officials

Photo By Sgt. Angel Turner | Chief Warrant Officer Yair Rosas, a pilot with Company C, 2-227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, goes over common uses of a medical evacuation UH-60 Black Hawk with combat medics and other health care professionals on Fort Hood, Nov. 7, at the Medical Simulation Training Center. Rosas, a native of Freeport, Texas, took part in the Operational Medicine Conference hosted by the 1st Cavalry Division's Surgeon section. During the conference, health care professionals learned about clinical practice guidelines that they are supposed to follow in deployed settings. (Photo by Sgt. Angel Turner, 1st Cavalry Division PAO)  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

11.07.2013

Courtesy Story

1st Cavalry Division

FORT HOOD, Texas - “Knowledge is power.” This quote, made famous by Sir Francis Bacon, holds true for health care professionals, who in the blink of an eye, may have to make lifesaving decisions.

Medical professionals within the Fort Hood community gained valuable knowledge during the Operational Medicine Conference Nov. 4-7, at the Medical Simulation Training Center here.

“By allowing credentialed health care providers to understand state of the art in operational medicine, they will be more familiar with the clinical practice guidelines that we’re supposed to follow in deployed settings,” said Lt. Col. William Porter, 1st Cavalry Division’s surgeon.

Hosted by the 1st Cavalry Division’s surgeon section, this was the second conference held at Fort Hood and was geared toward medical professionals with degrees.

Last year, the surgeon section hosted a conference focused on lessons learned from the unit’s previous deployment to Afghanistan.

“Ultimately we’re hoping it (the conference) will lead to lifesaving measures in bad situations,” said Porter, who hails from Solsberry, Ind.

The conference merged seasoned and newer health care professionals, affording them the opportunity to discuss topics that are important in austere environments.

Aside from gaining knowledge, medical officials also received continuing education credit for attending the conference. For every hour attended, medical personnel received one credit hour.

Army doctors and physician assistants require 50 credits per year. At the conclusion of the training, attendees had the potential to earn a total of 14 credits, said Porter.

Capt. Manuel Galaviz, the clinical officer in charge at the Monroe Health Clinic here, said one reason he attended the conference was because he felt that it would be a good time to interact with other providers.

Training topics included military working dog care, deployed dental care, and behavioral health in a garrison and deployed environment.

“This training was a good refresher, especially here at Fort Hood, because we have a larger medical population than other installations,” said Galaviz.

Galaviz, a New Orleans native, said it was good to see those little things that are typically forgotten, because they are not seen all the time, especially for providers who work in joint operations environments where they may conduct operations outside the realm of the Army.

Concluding the conference, attendees conducted medical evacuation operations. They practiced loading and unloading simulated casualties.

Pfc. Mark Lewis, a combat medic assigned to 546th Area Support Medical Company, 61st Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 1st Medical Brigade, attended the conference with his fellow soldiers as part of the unit’s sergeant’s time training.

“This is especially essential, because we don’t do an exceptional amount of medical tasks,” said Lewis, who hails from Sonora, Calif. “This ensures we stay up date and ready if we are called upon to deploy,”

The 1st Cavalry Division surgeon’s office plans to host two conferences a year, with the next one occurring in April.

“I’m hopeful this collegial passage of knowledge will improve our readiness posture to respond to whatever mission the Army calls us to do,” said Porter.

• Date Taken: 11.07.2013
• Date Posted: 11.13.2013 15:31
• Story ID: 116665
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US
• Hometown: NEW ORLEANS, LA, US
• Hometown: SOLSBERRY, IN, US
• Hometown: SONORA, CA, US