Photo By Sgt. Mark Cloutier | The 758th Forward Surgical Team sets up for a live field surgical exercise. Actual...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — All military units take their training seriously, but when the 758th Forward Surgical Team sets up a local training exercise, they conduct real surgical procedures, which means that for the patient, it’s not training. And for the type of medical aid they are capable of providing, the FST works as efficiently as many NASCAR programs.
A component of the 62nd Medical Brigade’s 47th Combat Support Hospital, the FST is put up fast and run like a well oiled machine, by just 15 highly skilled and motivated medical personnel and staff.
The FST is designed to set up and start receiving patients in 30 minutes. In just one hour the unit is fully operational, including an integrated four tent system, with all medical equipment up and running. “We can start sooner on the tailgate (of our vehicles) if need be,” said Maj. Charles Densevich, commanding officer, 758th FST. Densevich is also a nationally certified emergency nurse.
Designed to jump with the first line of combat troops, the mission of an FST is to provide forward surgical and emergency resuscitative care. “We plug the holes and save lives,” Densevich said.
During combat, FSTs are typically set up one hour away from each other. This allows the medical staff to move wounded soldiers to the appropriate level of care they need.
“Many of the men and women who pass through our tents will never know who it was who saved their life,” he said. “We stabilize and treat them as we can and then we move them on to an increased level of care; our thanks is in knowing they went home.”
On March 21, the team conducted three surgeries led by Lt. Col. Tommy Brown, surgeon and chief of general surgery at Madigan Healthcare System, along with Maj. Kelly Blair, surgeon and commander of the 250th FST. The umbilical hernia repair and two biopsies were all successful.
The three patients were service members and regular patients at MHS, who volunteered to be part of the exercise. “These are all normally same day surgeries at Madigan,” said Capt. Jessica Secor, certified nurse in charge of the operating room.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2012 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 87076 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 270 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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