51st MDG Delayed Team manages crisis patients

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Victor J. Caputo | Airman 1st Class Zach Nelson, 51st Medical Operations Squadron family health technician, helps Staff Sgt. Matthew Wobken, 51st Dental Squadron lab technician, put a sling onto his arm during readiness exercise Beverly Herd 16-01, May 9, 2016, at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. Wobken was simulating a patient with a dislocated shoulder, giving Nelson a chance to hone his injury-response skills. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Victor J. Caputo/Released)  

42, SOUTH KOREA

05.10.2016

Story by Senior Airman Victor J. Caputo  

51st Fighter Wing

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea – Readiness exercise Beverly Herd 16-01 kicked off on May 9, and brought a vast variety of scenarios with it, ranging from simulated attacks on base opposition forces to sheltering in place.

The 51st Medical Group was an active player in the exercise, taking in patients with simulated wounds and injuries, but the first responders weren’t the only critical members of the medical response force.

“The Delayed Team’s mission is to keep patients stabilized and prepare them either to go back to the fight or leave on an aero evacuation,” said Capt. Samuel Madson, 51st Medical Operations Squadron pediatrician and Delayed Team chief.

The Delayed Team does not handle the most critical patients sent to the emergency room, but they play the vital role of determining the status of and providing care for the wounded who are on the cusp of going critical.

The medical portion of Beverly Herd was designed to present realistic scenarios to medical personnel based on injuries seen in the field.

“We wanted to see what limiting factors we could find so we can minimize them in a real world situation,” said Maj. Jerod Rieger, 51st MDG wing inspection team chief.

Some of quick decisions that medical personnel need to be able to make are whether or not they can save a patient, if they have the tools necessary to support a patient, and if they have the blood, drugs and other medical supplies necessary to keep a patient alive, said Rieger.

“We sustain the fight,” said Madson. “We make it so that anybody that is injured can be taken care of and get them back into the fight.”

• Date Taken: 05.10.2016
• Date Posted: 05.10.2016 02:23
• Story ID: 197742
• Location: 42, KR