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    Camp Lemonnier receives new CT scanner

    Camp Lemonnier receives new CT scanner

    Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joseph Rullo | CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jermaine Jackson, operates...... read more read more

    CAMP LEMONNIER, DJIBOUTI

    06.19.2018

    Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Rullo 

    Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti

    CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – Expeditionary units are deployed to some of the most remote locations on the planet. However, service members and base personnel stationed at Camp Lemonnier now have access to modern medical testing previously unavailable to them on the installation. A new Phillips Computed Tomography (CT) scanner was installed at the Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) here in March 2018.

    A CT scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around the body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images, or slices of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body. CT scan images provide more detailed information than plain X-rays do.

    Prior to having the CT scanner, patients in need of this testing at Camp Lemonnier were taken off the installation to the neighboring French medical facility in Djibouti. According to Cmdr. Mark A. Thomas, an acute nurse practitioner and officer in charge (OIC) of the EMF, it’s standard for a patient to be seen in the emergency room and have a CT scan performed in less than 30 minutes. Having the equipment on base cuts the wait time by more than 20 minutes, which is the time it takes to drive to the French hospital.

    “Our mission here is primarily casualty receiving, mass [casualty] capability; so when looking at trauma care, the CT has become a standard of practice,” said Thomas. “For what we do here and what we’re asked to do, the CT scanner was a deficiency of ours.”

    Dr. Erika Schroeder, regional medical officer at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti said that the new equipment has also been used to support more than just military personnel. A civilian patient associated with the embassy had suffered a stroke and was taken to the EMF for diagnosis using the new CT scanner.

    “Having the CT there definitely made it so that we were able to give thrombolytics within 3 hours of symptom onset,” said Schroeder. “If we had to go to the French base first, we definitely would not have made the 3-hour cutoff.”

    Thomas said he gives all of the credit for the unit having the new equipment to his predecessors, to include EMF OIC Navy Capt. John York. Thomas said that York is the champion of the process of procuring the scanner prior to his departure from Camp Lemonnier in November 2017. Thomas said he is just the lucky recipient of York’s efforts.

    The installation of the scanner was a joint effort between the military and civilian contractors. KBR Inc., an American engineering, procurement, and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, worked closely with the Army and Camp Lemonnier public works for several weeks to complete the project.

    Thomas said that his unit is responsible for the care of thousands of personnel who occupy the base and in and around the area of responsibility. He said that having the resource of the CT scanner helps EMF perform its mission in supporting the regional focus, which includes safety.

    “The CT scan will help to identify diagnoses that will be able to decipher for our providers where the person needs to be seen and how immediately the patient needs to be moved,” Thomas said. “Instead of having service members redeploy, they can be seen by a provider, receive physical therapy and go on in their mission.”

    Within weeks of getting the new equipment, a patient was seen at the EMF with a devastating disease and they were able to get her into the CT scan, identify the issue and plan for a medical evacuation.

    “This capability at that time saved her life,” Thomas said.

    There are currently two Sailors at Camp Lemonnier trained to operate the CT Scanner. One is Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jermaine Jackson of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and the other is Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Gleason Lardizabal, of San Jose Calif., who is the leading petty officer of the EMF.

    “As of today, 35 patients have had a CT scan,” said Lardizabal. “Having the CT scan here increases our medical capability.”

    Thomas said there are more medical advances coming to Camp Lemonnier in the future such as the Frozen Blood Program to enhance the supply chain for life saving capabilities.

    “The expectation anytime is that we’re able, no matter where you go in your Navy uniform, we’ll be able to provide the care that you’re accustomed to back home,” said Thomas. “When we start getting equipment like the CT machine, we are now meeting the standard that can actually provide you that world-class care.”

    Camp Lemonnier is one of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, installations that conducts six lines of operation to support air operations, port operations, safety, security, quality of life, and what is called the core: the fuels, water and power that keep the bases operating.

    Camp Lemonnier’s mission includes enabling joint warfighters operating forward and to reinforce the U.S. – Djibouti relationship by providing exceptional services and facilities for the tenant commands, transient U.S. assets and service members.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.19.2018
    Date Posted: 06.19.2018 13:47
    Story ID: 281525
    Location: CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ

    Web Views: 288
    Downloads: 0

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