Photo By Staff Sgt. Jason Huddleston | Tech. Sgt. Mellissa Eterovic-Johnson applies a raytec sponge soaked with a hemostatic...... read more read more
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Deployments are a reality that affects virtually every career field in today’s Air Force, a reality Tech. Sgt. Mellissa Eterovic-Johnson faced head on when she got orders deploying her to Afghanistan.
For now Eterovic-Johnson, a member of the 59th Surgical Operations Squadron, is serving as NCO in charge of the operating room at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Airfield.
By nature, deployments are stressful environments, and for medics like Eterovic-Johnson, a mission-focused mindset paired with preparation and training are keys to a successful deployment.
The Craig Joint Theater Hospital OR is the only role III hospital providing care for the 36,000 NATO and coalition forces spread across 21 forward operating bases. A role III hospital has more surgical specialties and can take on more patients than a role II facility; Bagram is also the hub for aeromedical evacuation.
“Our unit provides medical care to keep our U.S. and coalition service members healthy and able to support our overall mission, which is to train and help stabilize Afghanistan and its citizens. I ensure my team and our ORs are always trauma ready,” Eterovic-Johnson said.
Medical technicians with varying surgical experience and strengths are deployed from Air Force bases across the world. Some are encountering surgical cases they have only read about or simulated for training but not experienced first-hand, she added.
“It’s my job to encourage and facilitate a safe transition into trauma situations for my team to ensure they can perform at the best of their abilities to provide the best possible care to our patients at a moment’s notice,” she said.
Learning so much about the preparation and response of a trauma situation and all the hands involved from start to finish, Eterovic-Johnson is impressed with the professionalism and capabilities of her team at Craig Joint Theater Hospital.
“The last few years, I have been adapting out of the operating room, leading the sterile processing and supply department. I’m so excited to get back to doing what I love. Surgery is where my heart is and I’m happy to be learning more about cases I rarely had a chance to do in the past. It’s all very fascinating to me,” she said.
This is Eterovic-Johnson’s first deployment and her supervisor is impressed with her work ethic, nicknaming her the “heartbeat of the flight.”
“She is running our day-to-day OR operations, and goes above and beyond revamp existing processes and creating new guidelines and systems so our section runs flawlessly,” said Tech. Sgt. Bruce Wiggs Jr., the 455th EMDOS flight chief for the Surgical Services Flight.
When she is not in the OR, Eterovic-Johnson volunteers her time to help with events like birthday celebrations and the group’s instrument room renovation.
“She masterfully toes the line between disciplinarian and wingman; she can enforce the standards without wavering but is still able to be there for you and provide the uplifting, jovial spirit needed in a deployed environment,” Wiggs said.
“Tech Sergeant EJ, as she is affectionately known, is who you can count on when you want your section to strive for and achieve greatness,” Wiggs added.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2016 11:52 |
| Story ID: | 209822 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, TEXAS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | GRANTS PASS, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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