Photo By Marcy Sanchez | 1st Lt. Audrey Poulton, nurse practitioner, Department of Primary Care, William...... read more read more
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Nearly 400 National Guardsmen were examined for medical fitness and readiness during a massive Medical Readiness Classification (MRC-4) reset at the Spc. Hugo V. Mendoza Soldier Family Care Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, April 13-15.
The reset advances the guardsmen’s medical and dental status from unknown to a more ready state to allow guardsmen to deploy.
“The reset is looking at (the guardsmen) deployable status,” said Michael Lorilla, medical readiness supervisor, Department of Primary Care, William Beaumont Army Medical Center. “This is routine measures the military goes through to determine if (the guardsmen) are deployable.”
Medical readiness is a top priority for the U.S. Army’s Medical Command, which cares for active duty Soldiers, retirees and eligible family members.
“We’re always supporting the warfighter,” said Lt. Col. Trisha Bielski, chief of primary care nursing services. “(The MRC-4 reset) is a sustainment piece. Whether it’s done through the Department of Primary Care or through (Soldier Readiness Processing) is yet to be determined, but it is an ongoing mission that we will support.”
The weekend endeavor tasked 15 military physicians and volunteer medical staff from WBAMC, dubbed medical readiness teams, to evaluate and recommend care for those guardsmen who required it, along with support from the Fort Bliss Dental Activity. While most of the reset is focused on administrative tasks, medical personnel did provide immunizations, laboratory tests, Periodic Health Assessment (PHA), audio and visual exams and recommendations for follow on care.
“If there is any medical requirements for the (guardsmen) we recommend seeking care to it corrected so they may be deployable,” said Bielski. “Once they are activated, they’ll go through an expedited SRP process since we’ve already met with them.”
The Soldiers, part of the 3rd Battalion, 133rd Field Artillery Regiment, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, were recently activated in support of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts after the hurricane made landfall last year and delivered a devastating blow to the Greater Houston area. According to the Texas National Guard, Texas will increase National Guard presence to more than 1,000 guardsmen along the U.S. - Mexico border in support of Department of Homeland Security missions.
“(Medical Readiness) is a collaborative effort with Army Medicine and U.S. Army Forces Command,” said Lorilla. “(WBAMC’s) medical readiness teams are in each section of (the readiness process), piecing it all together.”
According to Lorilla, the medical readiness teams’ efforts play a large part in the continuity of medical readiness, ensuring Soldiers are evaluated properly to form a solid foundation for follow-on care.
“It’s a huge (task) that we’ve accomplished this weekend,” said Bielski.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2018 11:35 |
| Story ID: | 273835 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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