Photo By Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca | Senior Airman Luis Montenegro and Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 332nd Expeditionary...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – "Trauma to ER, Trauma to ER," the overhead speaker calls. Within minutes the surgeon of the day, respiratory therapist, anesthesiologist, radiologist, and emergency room staff assembly are awaiting the arrival of the patient at the Air Force Theater Hospital.
Moments later the patient arrives and the team springs into action. The ER doctor assesses the patient while the ER techs and nurses begin IV's, take vitals, cut clothes off, and attach monitors and machines. Every second counts.
It's the picture of controlled chaos. Each member of the team knows their place and their mission; however, none of this would be possible without the work of another team: the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron biomedical equipment technician team.
This team is charged with ensuring medical equipment is serviceable, safe and properly configured prior to use during patient care.
BMETs install, inspect, repair, calibrate, and modify biomedical equipment and support systems. They educate and advise staff and other agencies on theory of operation, basic physiological principles, and safe clinical application of the biomedical equipment that maintains the facility's patient care and medical staff equipment.
"It's my job to keep the medical equipment fully running whether something breaks or just needs regular maintenance," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 332nd EMDSS BMET dedicated Computed Tomography technologist. "BMETS are not just the backbone of the hospital, we're all the bones. Everything in the hospital functions through us -- every piece of equipment from the A/C unit on the wall and the TVs in the volunteer area to the CT machine.
"We have a 98-percent patient survivability rate," continued the sergeant from Lynchburg, Va., currently deployed here from Scott Air Force Base, Ill. "The CT machines I maintain are used by the radiologist for diagnostic purposes. It is used 20-30 times a day and on every trauma patient that comes in. It gives the doctors a capability of figuring out the extent of a patient's injuries and helps expedite the treatment process."
Benefiting directly from the BMET's efforts, Maj. Rance Bryan, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron emergency room registered nurse and instructor of center for sustainment of trauma and readiness skills, shared his thoughts on the significance of what BMETs do.
"Resuscitation is a team effort, not just by the medical team at the bedside, but by everyone in the hospital who is behind the scenes to make sure our equipment runs smoothly," he said. "
Maj. Keith Waid, 332nd EMDSS medical logistics flight commander, said he is very proud of his team, their motivation and what they do to ensure mission accomplishment.
"We bring everything to the fight," said Waid. "Our fight is the hospital's mission. Without the hospital, without these people being able to be cured and taken care of when they are injured, you wouldn't be able to maintain the fight. Logistics is the foundation of the medical group. There is nothing that can happen inside the medical group without us having supported it or provided it or ordered it or maintained it or fixed it or cleaned it. From the top to the bottom, we take care of it.
"Loggies [logistics Airmen] are extremely motivated to do what they do," added the major from Conneaut, Ohio, currently deployed here from the Air Force Medical Operations Agency at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. "They thrive on making peoples day and whatever goes into that. Our motto is 'Whatever it takes' and whatever it takes is exactly what we do."
Senior Airman Yerahmiel Joyo, 332nd EMDSS BMET and general medical equipment technologist, also takes his unit's motto to heart.
"If I know something is wrong, then I will make sure I fix it right away," said the Airman from San Jose, Calif., deployed here from Luke AFB, Ariz. "The mission depends on it. If something is broken, it can literally be mission stoppage because there is some equipment here that there is no back-up for. So we have to do whatever it takes to keep the mission going."
In order to help with mission success, BMETS maintain machines such as the Propaq monitor, which is used for continuous bedside monitoring of vital signs; the Uni Vent Ventilator, which is a portable ventilator intended for use in mass-casualty incidents; and the Belmont Fluid Management System 2000, an intravenous fluid and blood warming system used to prevent air embolisms.
"We are very dependent on this type of equipment for positive outcomes in resuscitation," said Bryan, a native of St. Louis and O'Fallon, Mo. "If our equipment does not work, it will greatly affect the patient's outcome. Take the FMS, for example: it gives high-volume fluid replacement along with warming it at the same time. Cold trauma patients do not clot well and will hemorrhage if not kept warm.
"The Uni Vent Ventilator is so important that we depend on it to deliver the right amount of breaths and volume [oxygen] to our patients," the major continued. "If we did not have this equipment, then one person would have to stand there and bag the patient. We would not be consistent in the amount of volume or respirations we would be able to give our patients, which could easily harm them if not careful."
Currently working in the busiest level three American trauma center in the Iraqi theater
of operation, the BMETs take pride in helping maintain the highest patient survivability rate in the history of warfare at the AFTH here.
"The best part of my job is knowing that the equipment I maintain and fix helps save lives," said Joyo.
"Definitely," Brown concurred. "It's nice to see it all fall into place. This can be a long and tedious job at times. Sometimes, we spend 12 to 14 hours in a small room with the CT machine and you and other person trying to figure out what's wrong with it. Then when it's all said and done, the final product saves lives. We will work on a piece of equipment and do everything we can to fix it if it breaks.
"The doctors do an excellent job, and we make sure their equipment is up to par so that they can do their job," he continued. "We have top-notch people, who do a top-notch job and provide top-notch medical care."
| Date Taken: | 02.11.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2009 10:22 |
| Story ID: | 29898 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 65 |
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