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CAMP TOMBSTONE, Afghanistan - Medics with the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps completed a two-week en-route care course at Camp Tombstone, Afghanistan, Dec. 2-12.
The course was designed to provide ANA medics with advanced training in ambulatory care in an effort to increase the survivability rate for injured soldiers.
Earlier this year, U.S. and coalition forces transitioned to a supportive role in Helmand province and handed over responsibility for security to Afghan National Security Forces. As a result of the transition, the responsibility for providing medical treatment to injured soldiers was shouldered by the 215th Corps.
Battlefield injuries have remained steady in Helmand province; however, due to the province’s size and a shortage of medical care facilities within the region, the mortality rate remains high.
“Sometimes the medics are taking care of the patients for up to, or more than, two hours in the back of a vehicle during transportation,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Pruitt, the ERCC lead instructor from Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. “This course is giving them the skills to successfully keep the patient alive during evacuation and help raise patient survivability rates.”
According to U.S. Navy Lt. Brett Salazar, an ERCC instructor from Cupertino, Calif., the 215th Corps currently has a 40 percent mortality rate for en-route patient care. The advisors’ goal is to decrease that to 30 percent.
During the course, ANA medics learned how to conduct primary patient assessments for main traumas, including blocked airways, massive bleeding and amputations. Advisors also taught medics how to conduct secondary assessments of patients after they have been stabilized to identify slighter injuries.
The medics performed practical application exercises on how to apply tourniquets, release pressure in a patient’s chest, control bleeding, treat for shock, and stabilize fractures or neck injuries.
Most of the ANA medics who attended the course already had experience in treating battlefield casualties. Because of their experience, each medic had a strong interest in learning the advanced techniques for en-route treatment.
“The training was great. Some of the stuff we learned was new to me,” said ANA Pvt. Abdul Jalil, a medic with the 4th Brigade, 215th Corps. “I’m looking forward to taking this training back to 4th Brigade and teaching the other medics, because it’s going to help us take better care of our soldiers on the battlefield. It’s the medic who is on the battlefield treating the soldier first and it’s up to us to get him to the doctors alive.”
After graduating the course, the medics will return to their units as qualified ERC instructors and will begin teaching other soldiers ambulatory care.
“This class is the first step to get them to a level where they can begin to take over and teach Afghan medics how to safely and effectively transport patients from the battlefield to a hospital,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert Krejci, an ERCC instructor from Temecula, Calif. “It’s helping them to transition into being able to train each other on handling common battlefield injury. We want them to have all the needed foundations established for a smooth transition.”
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2013 05:38 |
| Story ID: | 118226 |
| Location: | CAMP TOMBSTONE, AF |
| Hometown: | CUPERTINO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | TEMECULA, CA, US |
| Hometown: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 160 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 215th Corps medics complete En-Route Care Course, by Sgt Austin Long, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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