April 30, 2008 AF officials select 37 Airmen for physician assistant training The Air Force officials selected 37 Airmen to attend the Tri-Service (Phase I) Physician Assistant training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The April 2008 Physician Assistant Board met at the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio to consider 61 applicants. In addition to those selected to attend
April 30, 2008 Doctors break ground with new voice recognition medical capabilities in Iraq The average professional types 50 to 70 words per minute. Lt. Col. (Dr.) John Mansfield, a urologist at the Air Force Theater Hospital here, claims he falls within that range. "Not bad, but I can talk at about 120 words per minute," Doctor Mansfield said, wearing a headset that he carries with him
April 30, 2008 State of medical care, training healthy again Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Doug Robb led wide-ranging improvements to patient care since assuming command of the 81st Medical Group and Keesler Medical Center in July 2007. The medical center continued its monumental recovery from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, increasing numbers and varieties of services.
April 30, 2008 Air Force ophthalmology team saves government big bucks Two 59th Medical Wing team members are recipients of the Air Education and Training Command's 2007 Air Force Exceptional Innovator Award. Ms. Pamela A. Singleton and Lt. Col. Richard G. Lane's implementation of a new drug project has saved the U.S. government $990 per unit dose of a drug used to
April 30, 2008 Officials remain proactive in tackling trainee illnesses Lackland Air Force Base officials remain proactive in its efforts to control the occurrence of upper respiratory illness amongst its Basic Military Training population. For the past two years, Lackland AFB has had one of the lowest respiratory illness rates of all Department of Defense military
April 30, 2008 Mobile CASF training course now available worldwide Sheppard Air Force Base medical training took another step toward the future with the certification of the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility Mobile Training Course taught here. "Certification means we can go anywhere now and teach the course," said Maj. Tammy St. Armand, an instructor
April 30, 2008 Breakthrough comes in preventing Dengue fever Dengue fever and the potentially fatal form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, are rated by the Department of Defense as number 3 of the top 40 disease threats to deployed military forces. According to a report from the Pan American Health Organization, an international public health agency,
April 30, 2008 Military revs up campaign against tobacco Military officials here boosted its efforts to campaign against the use of tobacco by providing a number of strategies recently. Quitting for other people is the focal part of the campaign, which urges tobacco users to consider dropping the habit for loved ones. The expense of taxpayers is also a
March 31, 2008 Series honors 60 years of AFMS history The Air Force Medical Service will celebrate its 60th anniversary on July 1, 2009. In editions of the SG Newswire leading up to the anniversary, we will publish an article of historical interest from the "USAF Medical Service Digest," 1950-1996.This first article is a July 1959 article on the first
March 31, 2008 Balad Airman receives Purple Heart Capt. (Dr.) Adrian Barcus, an intensive care unit staff physician for the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, received a Purple Heart and the Iraqi Campaign Medal from Brig. Gen. Burt Field, 332 AEW commander, at the Air Force Theater Hospital here March 7. Dr. Barcus, deployed from Scott Air Force Base,
March 31, 2008 Lightweight litter system initiative yields promising results As initiatives go, this one for the Air Force Expeditionary Center's Air Mobility Battlelab may "litter"-ally save lives. AMB set out to prove the feasibility of using a lightweight, man-portable litter system that can be hand-carried by aeromedical evacuation, or AE, teams and used on Air Mobility
March 31, 2008 Woman medic receives Silver Star Heroes are made, not born. And a hero like Army Spc. Monica Brown, 19, is no different. Brown, recognized for her gallant actions during combat in Afghanistan in 2007, is the second woman soldier since World War II to receive a Silver Star, the third highest award given for valor in enemy action.
March 31, 2008 Assistant surgeon general visits Balad hospital The assistant Air Force surgeon general for nursing services and medical force development met with deployed medics here March 3 and 4.While touring the Air Force Theater Hospital, Maj. Gen. Melissa A. Rank visited with Airmen assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Medical Group and listened as
March 31, 2008 New Procedure introduced in Air Force podiatric surgery Medical specialists in the 59th Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Squadron at Wilford Hall Medical Center here are introducing a new procedure in the podiatric surgery department. The procedure, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, or ESWT, is a form of treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis. Chronic
March 31, 2008 Wilford Hall opens new Air Force hyperbaric therapy facility The primary hyperbaric capability in the Air Force was relocated March 21 from Brooks City-Base, Texas, to the Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Hyperbaric chambers are used to perform hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which supplies a surplus of oxygen to the tissues to help
March 31, 2008 Kelley appointed assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Joseph E. Kelley joined the Military Health System (MHS) in February 2008 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Clinical and Program Policy. In this position, Kelley will be responsible for providing medical information, policy formulation, clinical
March 31, 2008 Officials activate 711th Human Performance Wing Officials at the Air Force Research Laboratory officially activated the 711th Human Performance Wing during a ceremony at the Air Force Institute of Technology's Kenney Hall here March 25. The new wing combines AFRL's Human Effectiveness Directorate with elements transitioning to Wright-Patterson
March 31, 2008 SARC helps deployed servicemembers respond to crisis Air Force Sexual Assault Response Coordinators will be stressing education and awareness about sexual assault throughout the month of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Those deployed, with a three-drink-a-night limit on alcohol and General Order 1 applying to their interactions with
March 31, 2008 DOD anti-tobacco campaign invades military markets The Department of Defense isn't just blowing smoke about its tobacco cessation campaign. "Quit Tobacco. Make Everyone Proud" is making its presence felt with enthusiastic marketing initiatives in 13 U.S. metropolitan markets containing 28 major military installations. The campaign positions military