Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class James Stenberg | Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jacob Yelland, preventive medicine technician, NHP, hangs...... read more read more
PENSACOLA, Fla. – One of the best ways to treat a disease is to prevent patients from getting sick in the first place.
The concept of preventing a medical condition before it has a chance to affect others is at the center of what Naval Hospital Pensacola’s Preventive Medicine Department strives to achieve.
“Our job is to prevent any kind of disease or outbreak,” said Hospital Corpsman Second Class Jacob Yelland, preventive medicine technician, NHP. “Every hospital has to have a Preventive Medicine Department.”
Preventive medicine is a unique medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It focuses on the health of individuals, communities and defined populations. Its goal is to protect, promote and maintain health and well-being as well as to prevent disease, disability and death, according to the American College of Preventive Medicine.
History has shown that the environment can be just as deadly in a conflict as the enemy.
“During the World Wars, more people died because of disease and infection than in actual combat,” said Yelland. “People died from malaria, yellow fever and other diseases. Preventive medicine was developed to combat things of that nature.”
Today, preventive medicine promotes or prevents health concerns like communicable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, general food safety, pest management, safe drinking and recreational waters and the influenza season to name a few.
“We work in the background,” said Yelland. “Most corpsmen work at hospitals, ships or on the front lines with the Marines. With preventive medicine, we do things like water testing to see if it’s compatible for human consumption or inspecting food facilities to make sure no one gets sick.”
Testing soil, air, food, water and plant life for contaminates are just a few of the ways the Preventive Medicine Department ensures a safe working environment.
In Pensacola, pest control is a vital mission for preventive medicine. Mosquitoes can contract and carry diseases from animals or people they have bitten and then transfer the diseases to another animal or human.
“The big [disease] that we are looking for here is West Nile,” said Yelland. “We also test for dengue fever and malaria. There have been no cases here of malaria, but there can be people who have travelled from other countries to Florida who may carry the disease. If a mosquito bites them, it can transfer malaria to another person and start an outbreak. That’s why we test for it.”
Preventive medicine is not just practiced here in the states. The health and safety of forward deployed servicemembers is of high importance as well.
“When I deployed to Afghanistan, my main role was to make sure troops did not get ill,” said Yelland. “If troops were going to a particular area, I would check for environmental risks or diseases for those troops going there. If we didn’t have the data, I would test the water, air, soil and everything around there to make sure the environmental health factors were low for the troops. I would also be the one to educate them on what they should avoid.”
Whether performing inspections of food service facilities, berthing spaces, child care facilities, recreational facilities, swimming pools or surveying potable water systems, solid waste and waste water disposal sites, the Preventive Medicine Department is always working to make the area safe for servicemembers, their families and the community. Unfortunately they go mostly unnoticed because the only way to tell if they are not doing a good job is if there is an outbreak or someone gets sick.
“Preventive Medicine is one of those things where if everything is going as it should, no one is aware of us,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Jason Williams, leading chief petty officer Preventive Medicine Department, NHP. “I have every confidence in the world in my team and their ability to do their jobs, so I know the entire population of military, retirees and their family members are in good hands when visiting the Pensacola area.”
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2014 11:46 |
| Story ID: | 129746 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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