Royal Air Force Allies Visit SLU’s C-STARS to Learn about Trauma Training Program

Published Nov. 6, 2007
By Sara Savat

ST. LOUIS -- The deputy surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force hosted guests from England's Royal Air Force at Saint Louis University's Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (C-STARS) on Saturday, Oct. 6.

U.S. Maj. Gen. Dr. Charles B. Green met with Air Vice Marshall Simon RC Dougherty and Group Capt. Arooper Mozumder of the Royal Air Force, who were visiting to learn more about the C-STARS program and the training it provides medical personnel.

During the visit, the dignitaries had the opportunity to observe a simulation, in which students treated artificial, computerized patients in a lab designed to look like a real field hospital.

The two-week C-STARS program at Saint Louis Unviersity is one of only three of its kind in the country that provides Air Force medical personnel with real-life, hands-on trauma experience. Through clinical rotations with SLU trauma doctors and nurses and weekly simulation exercises, students have the opportunity to sharpen and refresh their trauma care skills prior to deployment.

"Many of our students are on their way to Iraq. Because our C-STARS instructors have previously served there, they are able to prepare the students for what they will experience on the battlefield," Fallin said.

The group will also tour trauma facilities at Saint LouisUniversityHospital and view the magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine, a sophisticated, real-time brain imaging and diagnostic machine that helps doctors treat traumatic brain injuries. The St. LouisRegionalMEGCenter at SLU is one of the first in the country to use the advanced technology in a clinical setting.

"It has always been important to share medical capabilities with our allies," said 1st Lt. Scott Fallin, administrator of the C-STARS program at Saint LouisUniversity.

"Our training platform at Saint LouisUniversity and the close relationship we enjoy with the staff and faculty have proven critical to our deployed mission. Graduates of our C-STARS program have cited the program as vital to their preparedness in combat hospitals and other deployed facilities."

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: cancer, liver disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease, and infectious disease.

USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)