Skip to main content

Military Health System

Weed Army Community Hospital staffers show off their skills

Image of Medical personnel, wearing a mask, practicing skills on a dummy. Medical personnel, wearing a mask, practicing skills on a dummy

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support | Readiness Capabilities

Weed Army Community Hospital staff members showed what they could do – and learned some things they couldn’t – at a skills fair January 21 at the Mary E. Walker Center.

Army Capt. Megan Jensen, a clinical staff nurse with Weed ACH on Fort Irwin in California, helped plan and run the event.

“[The event is] basically a catch-all of skills that we need either to review based on things that have happened at the hospital or things that we don’t do very often that we want to keep skilled in,” Jensen said.

First, participants visited different stations and learned or revisited skills such as emergency code recognition and response, estimating blood loss, and first responder familiarization.

Jensen enlisted the help of Company C, 2916th Aviation Battalion for the final station on the airfield where a flight crew from C Company spoke with hospital staff about medical evacuation procedures.

“We do a lot of transfers from the hospital, both from the [emergency room] and from [mother-baby unit] and a lot of people aren’t familiar with who we transfer or why we transfer them or what capabilities we have,” Jensen said.

The second part of the event featured a team competition where staff could apply the skills reviewed during the first half.

Army Sgt. Maureen Kang, a licensed practical nurse with Weed ACH’s medical surgical ward, explained how the event benefitted her.

“Seeing what 500 milliliters of blood loss is gave me perspective so that in the future if any of these situations do occur, I know exactly how to be prepared and what to expect,” she said.

Though LPNs like Kang participated, Jensen said all hospital staff were invited to attend.

“It’s open to everybody who works at the hospital because a lot of the stations have to do with non-medical things, and we’ve picked the scenarios for each station based on things that have happened at Fort Irwin,” Jensen said.

The fair also focused heavily on COVID-19 with skills including COVID-19 screening criteria, managing a patient on a mechanical ventilator, and COVID-19 swabbing techniques.

“Typically, we take care of anyone from newborns to the geriatric population [on the medical surgical ward], including COVID-19 patients, so we can easily be working with ventilators like in the skills fair,” Kang said.

Hospital staff continued to take COVID-19 precautions during the event to ensure a safe learning environment.

“The fact that we’re able to hold this kind of event is because we were all wearing masks and maintaining our social distancing and practicing good hand hygiene, so it’s a good reminder for the community that wearing masks is essential,” Kang said.

More than 70 Weed ACH staff members attended the skills fair with positive feedback upon completing the event.

“As an LPN, I think this is just a great fun way to refresh my skills to know that these incidents do happen,” Kang said. “It’s good to refresh our skills and just make sure we are keeping our skills up to date.”

You also may be interested in...

The Dangers of Dietary Supplements

Video
7/11/2022
Military personnel lifting weights

Did you know that 75% of service members use at least 1 dietary supplement? Experts from the Uniformed Services University discuss the risks and safety concerns of dietary supplements. Learn more about dietary supplements at www.OPSS.org and The Consortium of Health & Military Performance (CHAMP).

Recommended Content:

Nutritional Fitness | Performance Nutrition: Fuel Your Body and Mind | Health Readiness & Combat Support

Performance Nutrition: The Best Ways to Eat

Video
7/11/2022
Infographic for Performance Nutrition

USU professor and nutrition specialist, Jonathan Scott PhD, gives advice on eating healthy. Learn more about the Dietician Approved Fueling stations at your local commissary here: https://www.commissaries.com/fueling_stations

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support | Performance Nutrition: Fuel Your Body and Mind | Nutritional Fitness

What is Performance Nutrition

Video
7/11/2022
Dr, Jonathan Scott

Learn more about Performance Nutrition and healthy eating habits at the Consortium for Health & Military Performance. https://champ.usuhs.edu/. For more information about the Dietician Approved Fueling stations at your local commissary, go to https://www.commissaries.com/fueling_stations

Recommended Content:

Performance Nutrition: Fuel Your Body and Mind | Health Readiness & Combat Support | Nutritional Fitness

MHS Minute May 2021

Video
5/28/2021
Image of MHS Minute Carousel

In this month's MHS Minute, the DHA's commitment to transforming military health continues. The DHA officially established the Tidewater market in SE Virginia, serving over 200,000 patients. The MHS is standing up 19 markets like Tidewater to allow healthcare providers to better meet the needs of their patients by improving coordination between facilities in the area.

Recommended Content:

Military Health System Transformation | MHS GENESIS: The Electronic Health Record | Health Readiness & Combat Support | MHS GENESIS

Moments in Military Medicine: Blood Donations on the Battlefield

Video
2/4/2020
Moments in Military History

Since January was National Blood Donor Month, learn more about the history of blood donations on the battlefield and the incredible work of the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP).

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support | Armed Services Blood Program | Our History | National Museum of Health and Medicine

MHS Minute September 2018

Video
9/21/2018
MHS Minute September 2018

Interested in hearing about some exciting events that took place around the Military Health System last month? Tune in to the MHS Minute to learn more!

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support

Patriot Warrior 2017 - Moulage

Video
10/5/2017
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Rose Jane Schoenwandt, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, California, and Staff Sgt. Caleb Boles, 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, discuss the importance of moulage during Patriot Warrior.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Rose Jane Schoenwandt, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, California, and Staff Sgt. Caleb Boles, 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, discuss the importance of moulage during Patriot Warrior.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support

USNS Mercy: Deployable Medical Center

Video
4/11/2017
U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civilian mariners explain the mission of the USNS Mercy and its capabilities.

U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civilian mariners explain the mission of the USNS Mercy and its capabilities.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support | Health Care Administration & Operations

Trauma Innovations

Video
3/23/2017
Hemorrhage is responsible for 91.5 percent of potentially survivable battlefield deaths. From 2001 to 2011, an estimated 24 percent of combat deaths occurred before patients reached a treatment facility; the major cause of death was blood loss. Battlefield trauma innovations like the occlusion balloon catheter and freeze-dried plasma will enhance the Joint Forces' current capabilities.

Hemorrhage is responsible for 91.5 percent of potentially survivable battlefield deaths. From 2001 to 2011, an estimated 24 percent of combat deaths occurred before patients reached a treatment facility; the major cause of death was blood loss. Battlefield trauma innovations like the occlusion balloon catheter and freeze-dried plasma will enhance the Joint Forces' current capabilities.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support | French Freeze-Dried Plasma Use in the DOD

Air Force Nurse Key Asset to Army Medevac

Video
3/22/2017
U.S. Air Force Maj. Sandra Nestor, tactical critical care evacuation team nurse, is assigned to the 3rd Platoon, C Company, 2-149 General Support Aviation Battalion Medevac. Medevac teams specialize in moving and treating U.S. and coalition forces who are injured and risk dying without immediate emergency care.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Sandra Nestor, tactical critical care evacuation team nurse, is assigned to the 3rd Platoon, C Company, 2-149 General Support Aviation Battalion Medevac. Medevac teams specialize in moving and treating U.S. and coalition forces who are injured and risk dying without immediate emergency care.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support

Ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise

Video
3/7/2017
The Ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE) team is comprised of 26 U.S. military personnel and several host nation physicians who have partnered together to train medical teams in preparation for deployment. During the MEDRETE, the teams are able to improve the eyesight of more than 250 Panamanian patients during the two-week training exercise. The goal is to provide medical care that benefits the people of Panama, while building relationships with the accompanying Panamanian medical professionals.

The Ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE) team is comprised of 26 U.S. military personnel and several host nation physicians who have partnered together to train medical teams in preparation for deployment. During the MEDRETE, the teams are able to improve the eyesight of more than 250 Panamanian patients during the two-week training exercise. The goal is to provide medical care that benefits the people of Panama, while building relationships with the accompanying Panamanian medical professionals.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support |

Any clime and place: Sailors bring hospital knowledge to the field

Video
5/19/2016
Sailors with 2nd Medical Battalion got out of their comfort zone and conducted a week-long training exercise at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The aim of the training is to teach Sailors the basic skillset and gear familiarization of shock trauma platoon in a deployed environment.

Sailors with 2nd Medical Battalion got out of their comfort zone and conducted a week-long training exercise known as a Health Service Augmentation Program at Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 18-22, 2016.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support

Racing to save lives at Steel Knight

Video
12/28/2015
Hospital corpsmen and Marines check a simulated casualty and remove their body armor during Exercise Steel Night’s mass casualty drill at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 12, 2015. The drill tested the 1st Marine Division’s ability to react to a large influx of injuries and wounds from battling the enemy. Steel Knight provides tough, realistic training for the Marines and sailors of 1st Marine Division.

Corpsmen and Marines rehearsed life-saving skills during Exercise Steel Knight’s mass casualty drill, Dec. 12, 2015. Steel Knight provides tough, realistic training for the Marines and sailors of 1st Marine Division.

Recommended Content:

Health Readiness & Combat Support
Showing results 1 - 13 Page 1 of 1
Refine your search
Last Updated: December 27, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery