Policy update paves the way for medevac option

Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Stewart | U.S. Soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army Health Clinic Grafenwoehr transport a simulated patient from the clinic to a medevac UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during a medevac training exercise with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Feb. 8, 2021, at the USAHC Grafenwoehr helipad, Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany. An update to the Grafenwoehr medevac policy allows Army medevac assets to transport a Soldier experiencing a medical emergency to the nearest available hospital. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Stewart)  

GRAFENWOEHR, BY, GERMANY

02.08.2021

Story by Staff Sgt. Christopher Stewart 

7th Army Training Command

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Key officials gathered at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Feb. 4, 2021, to formally sign an update to the Grafenwoehr (medevac) policy that allows for increased medical training, while saving time, resources and potentially lives.

The new policy was signed by Lt. Col. Avery Carney, U.S. Army Health Clinic Grafenwoehr commander; Lt. Col. Michael Kurtich, GTA Range Operations chief; Lt. Col. Matthew McGraw, commander of 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade; and Christopher Cook, Grafenwoehr Army Airfield manager.

Previously, if a Soldier at the clinic experienced a medical emergency, or the Soldier needed a higher level of care within 12 hours, local host-nation ambulance would be called to transport the Soldier. Now with the new policy in place, the clinic has the option to make a medevac request to the 12th CAB’s local medevac company that is authorized to transport Soldiers.

“It’s a wonderful piece of paper, I hope we never have to use it,” said McGraw. “If we do have to use it, it’s good to know that it’s there and we can leverage an asset that is already paid for instead of paying for it elsewhere.”

The use of Army transportation assets means the Army doesn’t have to request outside resourcing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where host-nation assets are strained.

“This alleviates the strain on the local assets, while also allowing us to use the assets that we already have,” said 7th Army Training Command safety officer Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brady Freeman.

“Occasionally we do have patients that need higher level of care, in which case we’ve been required to use host-nation resources such as ground ambulance to come transfer those patients to the nearest available emergency room,” said Capt. Charles Graves, family physician at USAHC Grafenwoehr. “However, we have this high-level asset and very capable paramedics who serve on those aircraft who can transport patients to the local hospitals, so it only makes sense to start to utilize that resource here at the clinic.”

This new policy specifically adds the USAHC Grafenwoehr helipad as a patient pick up point in the medevac policy and does not affect the rest of the installation.

“This is an arrangement exclusively to leverage 12th CAB assets to provide medevac transportation for outbound patients from the Grafenwoehr clinic,” said Carney. “If anyone in our communities has a medical emergency, they should never hesitate to call 112.”

Four days after the policy update, Soldiers assigned to USAHC Grafenwoehr and the medevac team from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th CAB, conducted training at the clinic helipad. This was the first time in over two years Soldiers have trained at this location.

“All around this is a big win,” Carney said. “The medevac company, the Soldiers assigned to the clinic, and the operational providers and medics that operate out of our clinic as well will build their readiness and proficiency through this new policy. Even the host nation is emphatic, it demonstrates their support and interoperability with us.”

Freeman said that he hopes if the policy works well at USAHC Grafenwoehr, policy makers can work on starting this same initiative at clinics in Vilseck, Hohenfels and Ansbach.

This is a small step forward, and the medevac crew can only service Soldiers for now. Family members, civilians, or local nationals will still get the care they need in an expedient manner, but the transportation to the hospital will come from the German 112 system. Freeman hopes to see these populations being served in years to come, one step at a time.

“I am ecstatic, it’s been two-plus years and we’ve been fully invested in this process,” said Freeman. “It’s not about me or my team, we’re just improving our foxhole, making our processes more efficient. Now the work really begins.”

• Date Taken: 02.08.2021
• Date Posted: 02.25.2021 09:55
• Story ID: 389796
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, BY, DE