NMRTC Camp Pendleton Maximizes Local Opportunities to Enhance Readiness

Photo By Felicia Crosson | Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton (NHCP) and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Camp Pendleton (NMRTC CP) now has its very own ambulance to assist with critical patient transport to and from the facility.  

CAMP PENDLETON , CA, UNITED STATES

05.20.2020

Courtesy Story

Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Commander Virginia Damin
20 May 2020

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.– The National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, set forth widespread changes to military medicine that will shape how the services provide care to beneficiaries and warfighters for years to come. One specific provision, found in Section 708, outlines that individual services will enter into partnerships with civilian trauma centers to ensure active duty medical personnel have ongoing exposure to critically injured patients. Massive efforts have resulted in many partnerships across the United States with several continuing to evolve. Still, not all members have the opportunity for exposure to gain trauma experience at regular intervals. Instead, many must rely on patient care experiences at the hospital and through simulation training.

The shift from traditional military treatment facilities to the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) structure place the readiness of active duty staff as a priority. Staff at NMRTC Camp Pendleton (NMRTC CP) have found innovative ways to maximize trauma care exposure while providing world-class care to the existing patient population. After assuming command, Captain Shelly Perkins led many efforts to enhance exposure to critical war-time skills. One major development was the formation of a multi-disciplinary Trauma Steering Committee (TSC). The aim of the committee is not to designate NMRTC CP as a trauma center, rather the goal is to equip the staff with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to properly and efficiently care for patients that find their way through the doors while enhancing operational readiness for staff.

In the short time since the formation of the TSC two major milestones have been achieved. First, the implementation of an Intra-facility Transport Team (IFTT) composed of eight corpsmen, fully licensed by the National Registry and county of San Diego as Emergency Medical Technicians and second, the establishment of the NMRTC CP Trauma Program. Both programs were built to ensure continuity and sustainment of ongoing programs and to promote the use of the most relevant clinical practice guidelines.

On May 8th the announcement for “Trauma Alert, Level 1” came over the 1MC as the team conducted their first live drill. In collaboration with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, NMRTC Twenty nine Palms, and 1st Medical Battalion, processes and skills were tested for over 100 personnel. From the generation of a nine-line medical evacuation request and activation of an en route care team transporting a simulated patient on a V-22 from VMM-364, to the IFTT assuming care of a high-fidelity trauma manikin at the NMRTC CP helicopter pad. As the trauma team moved to care for the simulated patient, providers across disciplines were able to practice skills such as hemorrhage control, advanced airway placement, needle thoracostomy, chest tube placement, activation of a rapid fluid infuser and participation in a critical team de-brief.

As Navy Medicine continues to lean into our responsibility to fulfill operational commitments it is imperative to leverage local opportunities to enhance and maintain clinical readiness. NMRTC CP has paved the way for other MTFs to find readiness solutions and optimize patient care at a local level.

• Date Taken: 05.20.2020
• Date Posted: 05.20.2020 13:19
• Story ID: 370412
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON , CA, US