Photo By Master Sgt. Julianne Showalter | Airmen and Soldiers from the California National Guard decompress at the end of their...... read more read more
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IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. — California National Guard service members previously conducting COVID-19 testing in Indio, California, answered the call from nearby Imperial County during a surge of COVID-19 patients. The Cal Guard’s aid allowed for increased bed capacity and patient care at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Brawley.
"Back on May 20, we were requested to come down here and provide support at the request of the Imperial County health operations area coordinator for the COVID-19 efforts,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jordan Darnauer, 144th Medical Detachment commander.
Chris Herring, the county’s emergency medical services manager, fielded the request for medical personnel support through the state and received 19 Airmen from the California Air National Guard’s 144th Medical Detachment, 146th Medical Group and 163d Medical Group consisting of five registered nurses and 14 medics.
"It’s awesome to see. It plays into the fact that no matter what wing you’re from in California, when it comes to medical, everyone’s professionalism, leadership and talent is showcased here. I’m seeing it every day. They take absolute pride in helping the citizens in their time of need,” said Darnauer.
Treatment of COVID-19 positive patients requires intense care and often the patients have concurrent medical issues. This care requires more time which in turn requires more medical professionals.
"We always throw out the National Guard name and say, ‘we’re going to call the National Guard,’ but it’s very comforting that when you do, they show up and they show up with very specialized staff who can get the job done,” said Herring.
The main purpose of the personnel is to augment and fill any role the hospital might need. Senior Airman Tamara Frankie, from the 163d Medical Group, is a military trained emergency medical technician who is assigned to the medical surgical floor at Pioneer Memorial Hospital, aiding the nursing staff to treat COVID-19 positive patients.
"The doctors and nurses are working nonstop and extremely hard. We are there to support the staff in any capacity, whether is something as simple as taking vital signs, assisting to move the patient or helping the patient ambulate. Whatever the nurses need,” said Frankie.
Medical staff are often the only source of in-person comfort patients with the virus have. Due to the infectious nature of the virus, family visitation is limited.
"We offer support that the patients need. They just don’t have the support of their family there. We get phone calls from the family members and we try to relay as much information back and forth as we can. There’s a lot of fear on the patients’ side that they don’t have a loved one there to offer that support, so we're filing in that role too,” said Frankie.
Frankie has adapted to provide this needed comfort while still providing the medical treatments needed.
"Sometimes there's a lot of trepidation on their part when they see a nurse walking into a room and all they can see is their eyes. We’re under layers and layers of protective gear. So, when we enter the room, we need to be cognizant that this is a person, and they have a lot of medical needs that need to be addressed. They can also have a lot of fear. We need to help set aside their fears, so we can help them,” said Frankie.
The new COVID-19 mission in Imperial County has tested the versatility and training of members of Cal Guard’s medical personnel.
"This is why people join the National Guard. We train every [drill] weekend for this reason in hopes that one day if the need arises we can rise to that need and provide for what the operation dictates of us. In this case, it’s providing medical care. What I’ve heard from all the nurses and medics here, is this is what they have trained for,” said Darnauer.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2020 06:56 |
| Story ID: | 371325 |
| Location: | EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 227 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cal Guardsmen provide medical aid to COVID-19 hotspot, by MSgt Julianne Showalter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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