Photo By Ken Stephens | Air Force Senior Airman Meckel practices suturing techniques at the U.S. Naval...... read more read more
NAPLES, Italy - The 126th Medical Group provided two weeks of medical assistance to the U.S. Naval Hospital Naples during their annual training at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy.
The 28 Illinois Air National Guard members from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, experienced an opportunity to work with their active duty counter parts from a sister service over the summer.
"It has been a pleasure having the Air Guard with us for the last couple of weeks, “said U.S. Navy Capt. Barth Merrill, commanding officer of the Naples hospital. “It really reinforces our surgeon general's priorities of jointness - the services working together side by side to meet the mission.”
Air Force Col. Eric Vaughn, chief of aeromedical services for the Air National Guard unit agreed.
"Right now, joint is the new push. It is going to be the future of military medicine. If you go into any major medical complex around the world and stateside, you will see air, Army and Navy physicians, and allied help, staffing the positions," said Vaughn.
Working together across services is possible due to the medical field being similar around the world. According to Vaughn, both the equipment and processes are universal from one service to another.
Staff Sgt. Haley Barlow, a health services manager with the Air National Guard unit, says this familiarity allowed the 126th to start working at the hospital quickly.
"I've been working in medical records doing research and filing. I helped implement an official file plan within the Naples hospital," said Barlow. "Their processes are 90 percent the same as we use, the same system, they have the same filing procedures. I was able to walk in there and feel comfortable and confident, like I knew my job."
While the work was comparable, there were some differences that led to bi-directional learning opportunities. The team not only received training from the hospital staff in areas that they do not normally practice, such as sutures, casting and molding mouth guards, but also provided training to their Navy colleagues.
Maj. Patrick McCann, a flight surgeon for the 126th, gave a talk about preventative cardiology, focusing on averting or delaying the progression of heart disease.
"I gave a summary of the most recent, up-to-date data for the providers here," said McCann. "Overall the reception was very well received in terms of the information."
Senior Airman Allyssa Ridings, an ophthalmic technician, said she gained some skills she would not acquire in the Air Force. Most of the eye glasses provided by this hospital have their lenses ground by hand to fit the selected frames. While Ridings was trained on grinding the lenses and assembling the glasses with the help of a machine, this method was new to her.
"The Air Force doesn't even do this in their hospitals," said Ridings. "This allows me to learn a skill that I wouldn't normally have."
McCann believes that a vital strength of the National Guard is the training they receive in the civilian world as well as in the military.
"I think we've done a very good job of coming in and supporting their medical group with some of the additional specialties we bring to the table," said McCann.
He explained that the specialties of the Guard physicians, occupational health, cardiology and surgery, are a strong point.
Vaughn also said that the civilian training of the Guard members is a benefit.
"We're practicing civilians so we're all on the leading edge in our field. It's a very expensive proposition to stay current. In the civilian sector, we're out there learning everything that is current and modern. We're bringing all the civilian expertise to the table," said Vaughn.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2015 17:04 |
| Story ID: | 171778 |
| Location: | NAPLES, IT |
| Hometown: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 508 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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