Photo By Sgt. Michael Baltz | Spc. Arielle Tango, of the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG), explains the process...... read more read more
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CAMP SUFFISANT, Willemstad, Curaçao (July 31, 2018) – Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) combat medics are teaming up with the Volunteer Corps Curaçao (VKC) to focus on best practices for emergency medical responses during an information exchange July 30 – Aug. 3, 2018.
Medical professionals with the 48th Civil Support Team (CST) and the 256th Area Support Medical Company (ASMC) are meeting with members of the VKC to focus on common disaster injuries, casualty assessment, airway/breathing, circulation/bleeding/crash injuries, and splining/spinal immobilization in Curaçao, which is located only 40 miles north of the Venezuelan coast.
“This [information exchange] is great,” said Francisca Humphrey, the VKC’s medical officer. “The information about the tourniquets will be very beneficial to us.”
After reviewing patient assessment practices, the exchange was broken out into four stations with each one focusing on a typical emergency response technique. Each member of the VKC was able to move through the stations while sharing valuable information with members of the FLARNG.
“With the information exchanges, you get a new perspective on how other people do things and you can brings those things back with you,” said Staff. Sgt. Jose Obradovich, a combat medic with the 256th ASMC.
One station focused on breathing and application of both oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways. Another explained the process of identifying and treating a tension pneumothorax by inserting a flexible tube or needle between the ribs to remove the excess air. In both instances, VKC members were able to demonstrate these practices on mannequins.
The exchange was boosted by both the VKC and FLARNG with several members being medical professionals outside of their military service, as both typically have civilian jobs. Humphrey works as an ambulance driver and several members on his team are also medical professionals. This enhances the VKC in a similar nature it does with the FLARNG.
“For a volunteer force, they have a lot of medical professionals as part of their corps,” said Obradovich, a paramedic outside of the FLARNG. “[The VKC] is similar to us, we are citizen soldiers. We have regular jobs in addition to the guard.”
Beyond the shared medical knowledge from both sides, this exchange will continue to enhance the FLARNG relationship with Curaçao.
“It brings the [FLARNG] another cooperative partner, who has similar goals and objects,” said Capt. J.R. Wiggins, a coordinator of the exchange. “It allows us to work together, so should a state of emergency happens, it will allow us to better coordinate humanitarian efforts in the future.”
A dozen FLARNG members are supporting the information exchange with Curaçao at the request of Margaret Hawthorne, the U.S. Consulate General in Curaçao and U.S. Chief of Mission to the Dutch Caribbean.
Members of the Air Force’s 429th Expeditionary Operations Squadron in Curaçao also supported the exchange of sharing medical information with the VKC.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2018 16:46 |
| Story ID: | 287335 |
| Location: | CW |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, FLNG Medics Exchange Best Practices with Curaçao’s VKC, by SGT Michael Baltz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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