Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Lindsey | 230303-N-ZZ999-1005 CLEVELAND, Ohio (Mar. 03, 2023) View of the outer doors of the of...... read more read more
Simulation Lab Dedicated to Honor Fallen Navy Corpsman
By: MC2 Russell Lindsey, NMOTC Public Affairs Office
CLEVELAND, Ohio – In training, all Navy Corpsman recite the Corpsman’s Pledge to “do all within their power to show in themselves as an example of all that is honorable and good throughout their naval career”. While the pledge acts as a guide of conduct, it is only through the courageous acts of those who live it, and ultimately make the final sacrifice upholding that ideal, that its greater meaning is shown. On August 26, 2021, Hospital Corpsman Third Class (HM3) Maxton Soviak made that ultimate sacrifice while on Operation Allies Refuge during the Kabul Airport bombing. Soviak was one of 13 U.S. service members that lost their lives that day in Kabul, Afghanistan and was the last U.S. casualty of the war.
On Friday March 3, 2023, in recognition of HM3 Soviak’s sacrifice, the Navy dedicated its newest simulation lab in his honor. The simulation lab, housed at University Hospitals (UH) Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, will be used to advance the knowledge and trauma training of corpsmen preparing to deploy and will be a fitting memorial since Soviak was a local Ohioan.
Soviak grew up in the city of Milan, approximately 60 miles west of Cleveland. He was a member of his high school’s football team and an active member of his high school community. He is fondly remembered by his friends and was a favorite student of his teachers. Soviak’s family, with assistance from UH Administrators and the Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism, was able to help make this dedication to the fallen hero possible.
“I would like to thank you for honoring my son in this way. We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support we have received,” said Rachel Soviak, HM3 Soviak’s mother. “I hope that future Corpsmen find the inspiration in my son to keep fighting, to make the world a better place, and help just one more person. Thank you for your service and thank you again for keeping Maxton’s memory alive.”
UH Medical Center Cleveland, as luck would have it, houses one of the Navy’s Hospital Corpsman Trauma Training (HMTT) program sites. HMTT prepares enlisted Sailors to provide care to our warfighters. HMTT Cleveland’s simulation room will train and enhance their lifesaving skills and techniques to better equip them with the skill they need wherever their missions may lead.
“His dedication far outweighed what his requirements were, which was taking children from a challenging situation and bringing them to base,” said Force Master Chief Michael J. Roberts, director Hospital Corp. “Because of his dedication, he saved countless people, he saved countless lives. He is someone to look up to, I look up to him”.
Throughout history, Hospital Corpsmen have served alongside the U.S. Marines and Coalition Warfighters during both major and minor global conflicts. They are charged with the duty of preserving life of both military and civilian personnel. To accomplish this, Corpsmen must rely on the training they receive to deploy lifesaving skills on demand. HMTT is a unique high stress training venue; partnered with Level One Trauma Centers, staffed with elite healthcare teams that help to better prepare Corpsmen to deliver enhanced skills when it matters most.
HMTT Cleveland resides in the heart of downtown Cleveland, Ohio and is one of the four training sites of the HMTT program. A program of Navy Medicine Operational Training Command (NMOTC), HMTT builds on the idea of another NMOTC program that began 20 years ago with the foundation of the Navy Trauma Training Center (NTTC) located in Los Angeles. Where NTTC focused more on the implantation of surgical trauma teams filled with nurses, doctors, and other mid-level providers such as Corpsman, HMTT focuses solely on the skills of the Corpsman. HMTT students are provided a classroom environment, simulation lab, and practice the skills they learn in the units and wards of their resident hospitals. The practical skills, sometimes referred to as “reps and sets”, that the Corpsman gain are crucial to providing patient care in austere and operational platforms where the resources may be limited, and the stakes high.
Each HMTT class is a seven-week training program that focuses on exposure to trauma that is akin to what could be encountered on the battlefield. The first two weeks are classroom-based lecture and simulation skill training, culminating in the last five weeks of clinical rotations with UH medical professionals. During the student’s tenure, they work hand-in-hand with physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and paramedics providing care and performing lifesaving interventions in the Emergency Department, Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and with the mobile Wound Care Team. Corpsmen hone their ability to perform and perfect a multitude of skills including patient assessment, intravenous and intraosseous catheter placement, laboratory specimen collection, electrocardiograms, nasogastric tube placement, urinary catheter placement, hemorrhage control, CPR, patient monitoring and movement, and sutures to name a few. From January 2021 to present, 137 Corpsmen have treated over 7,000 trauma victims, not including medical emergency cases.
While the program numbers speak for themselves, the impact and significance of the training our Corpsman receive are even greater. NMOTC is dedicated to giving our service members the training and skills they need to render aid and fulfill the pledge they take to render care under the most trying conditions.
Corpsmen reflect the Navy’s core values of Honor, Courage, Commitment, and Respect in their care of others. Maxton Soviak embodied these ideals, served his nation, and made the ultimate sacrifice. With the dedication of this simulation lab, all who train in HMTT Cleveland’s spaces will hear the echo of this hero in its halls. They will have a better understanding of the selfless sacrifice that Navy Corpsmen embody so that future generations, prepared to answer that famed call “Corpsman Up”, will be ready… any time or anywhere.
NOTE: CDR Duane Lampert, HMC Jason Smith, HM1 Anthony Arias & CDR Colleen Abuzeid, HMTT, contributed to this article.
For more news from NMOTC, visit http://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NMOTC
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2023 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 440820 |
| Location: | CLEVELAND, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 576 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Navy Medicine Dedicates Simulation Lab to Fallen Corpsman, by PO1 Russell Lindsey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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