May 3, 2013 AF general appointed to head single military health agency The Defense Department on April 25 moved a step closer toward reshaping the Tricare Management Activity into a broader Defense Health Agency, naming and promoting Air Force Maj. Gen. Douglas Robb to head the new three-star directorate.Robb co-chaired a DoD task force that reviewed the military
May 3, 2013 Therapy dogs bring joy to all Amid patients all over the world deadlocked in battles with various ailments from cancer to cholera, it is understandable spirits within hospitals are not always high."My dogs are registered pet therapy dogs," said Linda Bretz, Airman and Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant. "I
May 3, 2013 Defense Brain Injury Center, Two Decades of Research and Advancements For more than 20 years, the Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, one of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, has served service members, beneficiaries and veterans with state-of-the-art clinical care, innovative clinical research initiatives
May 1, 2013 MST builds friendships, sharpens skills at Hospital Escuela Joint Task Force-Bravo's Mobile Surgical Team partnered with the Hospital Escuela, a training hospital in Tegucigalpa, to teach and perform much needed surgeries as part of a commitment in building partnership capacity, April 23.The MST, assigned to the Medical Element at JTF-B, performs weekly
May 1, 2013 55th Medical Group selected for two Air Force level awards The men and women of the 55th Medical Group recently learned that their hard work and dedication earned them two Air Force level awards. The Ehrling Bergquist Clinic was recognized with the 2012 Air Force Surgeon General Award for Best Clinic, and the dental clinic was named the 2012 Air Force
May 1, 2013 Warfighter Refractive Surgery Center looks for more patients Airmen who are sick of living day to day with their glasses and contacts have an opportunity to leave them all behind.The Warfighter Refractive Surgery Center at Travis AFB's David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center has no waiting list and is looking for Airmen who wish to eliminate their
May 1, 2013 AF, Army train Serbians on PTSD programs Two Serbian military members and one Serbian doctor visited the 86th Medical Group and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center March 25 to 27 to become familiarized with mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder programs.They were given the requirements for establishing and sustaining their own
April 26, 2013 Child Abuse Prevention Month promotes intervention For the past 30 years, April has been observed as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Despite the increased amount of attention and focus on child abuse prevention, the problem has been gradually increasing over the years."The current debate is if the cases are actually increasing or if there is
April 26, 2013 Medical center volunteers give decades of service Keesler Medical Center would be hard-pressed to provide excellent care to its patients without the support of the almost 60 members of the facility's volunteer services. The time six of those volunteers have given to the 81st Medical Group adds up to 180 years. That's more than 1.5 million hours of
April 26, 2013 Senior leaders testify on health of personnel programs Air Force senior leaders, along with counterparts from each of the services, testified about the current state of military personnel programs before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee April 24.Daniel B. Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and Lt. Gen.
April 25, 2013 Aeromedical Evac team saves 3-day-old baby Pacific Air Force's area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Africa and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, spanning more than 100 million square miles, but covering this distance can be a challenge when providing proper medical care.The mission: get
April 25, 2013 Indonesian, U.S. forces practice humanitarian evacuation After two days of in-class lectures, U.S. and Indonesian service members and civilians from the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center participated in an aeromedical evacuation subject-matter expert exchange here, April 24.During the exchange, a disaster scenario was simulated in which patients
April 25, 2013 TRICARE a Part of April National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)-sponsored National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is April 27, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Take-Back Day provides a venue for safe disposal of prescription drugs that might otherwise be susceptible to misuse, abuse or environmental contamination.Medicines left at
April 24, 2013 Prescription drug abuse: Don't swallow your career You're having trouble sleeping during the work week and a friend is concerned about your performance."I have something that might help," he says.He hands you a small pill to take that night and you take it before bed; instantly falling sound asleep.You awake the next morning, feeling refreshed and
April 24, 2013 VA launches hotline for health care, women veteran questions The Veterans Affairs Department has launched a new hotline -- 1-855-VA-WOMEN -- to receive and respond to questions from veterans, their families and caregivers about the many VA services and resources available to women veterans.The service began accepting calls March 27."Some women veterans may
April 23, 2013 Air Force, Italian medics simulate joint patient care Members of the 31st Medical Group at Aviano Air Base and the local Italian hospital in Pordenone, Italy, came together April 17 to discuss the results of the region's first international patient care simulation.The collaboration, which took place in early March, encompassed all levels of care needed
April 23, 2013 Deployed Airmen save lives miles from front lines The explosion took the Airman at the knee, knocking the patrol to the ground. Patrol members rushed to him, treating him for shock and taking out his individual first aid kit to render aid - various gauzes for covering the wound, two tourniquets to cut off blood flow, and a few smaller items that
April 22, 2013 Keesler member uses buddy care in emergency Self-aid and buddy care training proved useful for Senior Airman Paul Calica when he came upon a traffic accident April 4.The 81st Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental engineering technician was returning to Keesler around 9:30 a.m. after dropping off his wife at home following an
April 22, 2013 Medical Education and Training Campus awarded national accreditation The Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) has been granted accreditation status by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE). The announcement was made by Gregory Garrett, COE chair, following a meeting in Kissimmee, Fla. Feb. 16-18. The award of accreditation status was
April 18, 2013 New medical evacuation training may save lives As the second group of graduates left Air Mobility Command's Aeromedical Evacuation school recently, the streamlined curriculum they experienced promised Total Force medical crews who are even better prepared to work together to save lives.Thirty days of streamlined training at Wright-Patterson AFB,