Photo By Capt. Jason Sanchez | U.S. Air Force Capt. Jim Kane, a military clinical nurse with the California Air...... read more read more
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INDIO, Calif. – For U.S. Air Force Capt. Jim Kane and his California Air National Guard unit, service before self is more than just a phrase. It’s a way of life.
In early March, Kane and other Airmen from the Fresno-based 144th Medical Detachment, 144th Fighter Wing, were one of the first in the California National Guard to be activated to serve a COVID-19 humanitarian response mission.
He and other members from one of his unit’s medical support teams were tasked by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to support the California Emergency Services Authority (EMSA) with the care and monitoring of 21 passengers from the Grand Princess Cruise Ship. The passengers were quarantined at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove after multiple cases of COVID-19 were verified on the cruise ship. At the time, there were fewer than 2,500 positive cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States.
Kane and the team are now serving on another COVID-19 response mission in a different part of the state.
Just two days after completing the cruise passenger mission, on March 31, Kane and his team got back in the fight. He, along with multiple medical teams from the Cal Guard and Riverside County, reported to a Federal Medical Station (FMS) established at the Riverside County fairgrounds in Indio where they now administer COVID-19 tests.
When Kane and his medical support team arrived at the site, they immediately integrated with personnel from Cal EMSA and a California Medical Assistance Team. Kane was immediately recognized for his leadership abilities and asked to serve as an operations chief. As an operations chief, he is coordinating and leading all medical operations at the site, working directly with civilian counterparts and military service members.
“The incident commander and the medical support team director noticed the discipline, efficiency, and high morale of the military team members immediately,” said Kane. “They thought those qualities could benefit the initial site team, and they did. We all began to work seamlessly together. The federal, military, state, and county entities became integrated right away.”
Outside of his military duties, Kane, who is a registered nurse, works as a charge nurse at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno. There he supervises the emergency room’s nursing staff.
At the 144th Fighter Wing, he serves as a clinical nurse, which is a fully qualified nursing position that provides medical and surgical nursing care for a wide variety of outpatient and inpatient procedures.
“Many of my civilian and military skills overlap,” said Kane. “But the leadership principles that I have learned in the clinical military field have made me a better leader within my civilian career. It has given me experiences that have enhanced my ability to lead.”
Kane started working in the medical field in his early twenties as an emergency medical technician and an emergency room technician before becoming a registered nurse after his first child was born.
Now 27 years into his career, Kane is enrolled in a master’s program to become a nurse practitioner and is completing classwork when he has time off from the COVID-19 mission.
Once his coursework is complete, Kane will be able to diagnose disease and treat illness, write prescriptions, and create medical plans. In the military, he will also have the ability to write waivers and see patients who are on a medical profile, which limits their duties.
Kane lives in Clovis with his wife, Heather, where the couple have raised two children who share their parents’ passion for helping people, he said.
His daughter, Grace, is currently pursuing a psychology degree at Fresno State University, and his son, Ryan, is a high school junior who is also considering a medical career.
Mission days are long and Kane misses his family, but working on medical missions through his military service has provided some of the greatest experiences of his life, he said.
“The pride that I have for the important work we do is what gets me through the long days and being away from my family,” said Kane. “Our role is important, and we make a real difference.”
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2020 19:09 |
| Story ID: | 369633 |
| Location: | INDIO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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