Photo By Sgt. Caitlin Wilkins | Dr. Mary Reed, right, chief medical officer for Task Force McCoy Guest Medical...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT McCOY, Wis. – Local hospital executives visited the Task Force McCoy medical facilities here as part of a continuing effort to provide medical care to Afghan evacuees who are here as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Dec. 8, 2021.
The visit provided hospital executives with an understanding of the current medical operations here and allowed them to meet the new Task Force Medical staff and Department of State personnel.
“We could not do what we have done and continue to do without our partners from community hospitals,” said Col. Arthur Jenkins, commander of Task Force Medical. “They are an integral part of the wheel that spins each day that makes Task Force McCoy go.”
As Afghan evacuees move through the resettlement process, the partnership between Fort McCoy and the local hospitals that care for them is vital in addressing any medical needs the evacuees may have.
“We want them to be healthy when they resettle,” said Jenkins. “Optimal health is a good thing, optimal health is a necessary thing because if someone is sick we can’t have them depart and go onto their next phase of life. At its basic level, good health is good for everyone and that includes our valued guests here at Fort McCoy.”
Currently, Afghan evacuees are receiving basic medical care from the facilities here, but are transported to local hospitals for more advanced care through a partnership established early in the Operation Allies Welcome mission here.
“We provide role one care, urgent care, and then if we determine that what we provide through role one care is beyond our capabilities then we have coordination with an ambulance service that can take the guests to one of our regional hospitals,” said Jenkins. “They then will provide the extensive care that’s needed and determine if that guest needs to be admitted or if they can return to the installation.”
The visit included introductions and presentations from task force leadership and a tour of the medical facilities Afghan evacuees are using.
“We speak on conference calls all the time,” said Jenkins. “We bring up the pressing issues that need to be addressed and we handle it. To come face-to-face and to have that walk-through where they had a birds-eye view of what our capabilities are specifically here on Fort McCoy and our limitations, that was important to see as we further strategize as this mission carries on.”
The partnership between local hospitals and Task Force McCoy has been critical in mission success and helping Afghan evacuees through the resettlement process.
“We want to resettle as many Afghan evacuees as we can,” said Jenkins. “Of course that can only be done best if we do best by them and our partners do best by them, and if they’re healthy and happy. We’re just taking care of our allies as many of them have taken care of us.”
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2021 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 410893 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Local Hospital Executives Visit Task Force McCoy, by SGT Caitlin Wilkins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
