Photo By Sgt. Richard Barnes | YUMA, Ariz. -- U.S. Air Force Capt. Farran Adams, a critical care nurse assigned to a...... read more read more
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YUMA, Az. -- As COVID cases continue to surge throughout the country, the Department of Defense has continued its efforts to deploy military medical teams in response to the rapid influx in coronavirus numbers.
At the request of the state of Arizona, in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a team of U.S. Air Force medics consisting of nurses, medical technicians, and physicians has deployed to Yuma, Arizona, where they are supporting the civilian hospital staff at Yuma Regional Medical Center.
“The main goal of our mission is to help alleviate the strain on the staff who are overworked due to patient census and staff shortages,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Farran Adams, an acute care nurse assigned to the team in Yuma.
The military medical team arrived on Dec. 29th, in the middle of a busy holiday season. Integration within the hospital began the next day.
After receiving a brief introduction to the hospital’s staff and their protocols and day-to-day operations, the military personnel immediately began offering care to the COVID positive patients at Yuma Regional Medical Center.
“The [Yuma Regional Medical Center] staff has been very welcoming and really helped us integrate into their facility,” said Adams.
The Yuma military team is currently supporting two separate medical missions at the hospital. The first group is working side-by-side with hospital staff to assist in providing urgent care to patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus. The second group is offering monoclonal antibody treatment therapy to COVID positive patients at the hospital’s transitional care center.
“Before they can receive the treatment, the patients have to be screened,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Bradley Gorman, a medical technician working at the transitional care center.
Anyone looking to receive the monoclonal antibody treatment therapy must have a positive COVID test without having been admitted to the hospital and must be 12 years of age or older.
“Once the patient has been screened, if they meet the criteria, then we go ahead and get them scheduled and get them in here,” said Gorman. “We infuse them, make sure there’s no adverse reactions, then we get them out of here and hopefully they’re feeling better after that.”
While one section of the team is offering this therapy to the citizens of Yuma, another is providing direct patient care to those who have been admitted to the hospital for coronavirus symptoms.
Direct patient care includes medication administration, assessing and monitoring the patient for any deterioration in their status, and implementing nursing interventions to that patient as appropriate.
“I am truly honored that I am able to use my skill set to care for the sick and mitigate the suffering of the citizens here of Yuma,” said Adams.
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.13.2022 14:21 |
| Story ID: | 412818 |
| Location: | YUMA, ARIZONA, US |
| Hometown: | EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 341 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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