Courtesy Photo | Oregon Air National Guard Lt. Col. Chris Webb, ITLS chapter build lead, demonstrates...... read more read more
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SALEM, Ore. - Within the last year, the Oregon National Guard celebrated its 10th anniversary with Vietnam’s National Committee for Search and Rescue (VINASARCOM) as part of the State Partnership Program. This long-standing bilateral relationship has been the continuation of building trust and respect, with a shared commitment to regional and international security.
A product of this hard work has allowed the U.S. military and multiple government agencies the opportunity to advance an association with the Vietnamese Department of Peacekeeping Operations, helping develop the country’s first International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) training chapter. The goal of ITLS is to provide knowledge and experience to recognize, assess, and care for critical trauma patients and ensure timely transport to the emergency department.
Beginning with a site survey in September of 2022, Oregon Air National Guard Lt. Col. Christopher Webb, traveled to Vietnam to meet with Vietnam’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VNDPKO), intending to design a plan and help set up the country's first-ever ITLS chapter. As a traditional Guardsman, Webb is the 102nd CERFP Medical Element Commander, a Detachment of the 142nd Wing Medical Group, and works as a Physician’s Assistant in private practice in Eugene, Oregon.
“When INDOPACOM (United States Indo-Pacific Command) Global Peace Operations Initiative first approached me about this project, they sold it as a two to three-year process,” Webb said. “The multi-phased plan we developed made it happen in about 14 months, so it was pretty aggressive.”
Vietnamese medical personnel deploy on an annual UN peacekeeping mission to South Sudan to staff a level-2 hospital. Certification in ITLS meets the United Nations pre-deployment requirement for trauma training and, until recently, Vietnam had largely depended on outside training to meet this requirement.
During Webb’s second trip to Vietnam in February 2023, two ITLS classes were conducted over two weeks by both Oregon instructors and Vietnamese ITLS instructor candidates. In all, eight Vietnamese physicians were fully-certified as ITLS instructors during this block of training, and 50 students were certified as ITLS providers.
“Each class certifies more Vietnamese in ITLS so they can deploy on the UN mission, plus we are selecting students to be developed into future ITLS instructors,” Webb said about these training phases. “We are also developing the administrative infrastructure necessary to support a chapter along with the critical roles of Medical Director and Chapter Coordinator.”
Phase 3 was conducted in August of 2023, with the two ITLS courses, bolstering the overall training to over 120 Vietnamese soldiers and healthcare providers and producing nearly 20 Vietnamese ITLS instructors during these phases. The curriculum is based on Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, aimed at saving lives while under immediate threat. During this training the first female ITLS instructor, a nurse, was certified, breaking traditional roles for men and women integrating in Vietnamese culture.
With Phase 4 recently completed in mid-December of 2023, a total of 23 Vietnamese students, consisting of physicians and nurses completed the three days of training. In addition to the constant presence of the Vietnamese Chapter Coordinator and Medical Director, a total of 10 Vietnamese ITLS instructors also participated in the facilitation of the course. The decision on chapter certification will be pronounced by mid-January 2024.
"The chapter will reside at Military Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City, but will train UN deploying members from all over the country,” he said. “Once this chapter is fully-certified, Vietnam plans to grow another chapter in the northern part of the country.”
Ho Chi Minh City Military Hospital 175 is a dedicated healthcare unit for military personnel with a 1,500-bed capacity for residents of Southern Vietnam.
These critical two-week training phases will be put to the test in December when a U.S. representative from ITLS Chicago will monitor this final training phase without the assistance of American military members, as these classes will be entirely taught by Vietnamese instructors.
If all goes as expected, a formal recognition of Vietnam’s first-ever ITLS chapter will occur in April 2024, becoming just the 10th formally recognized Asian country to have an ITLS Training Chapter. Vietnam has already started making plans to start a second ITLS Training Chapter elsewhere in the country using the successful template that Webb and his team have created.
"Vietnam plans to grow another chapter in the northern part of the country so that UN deployers from the south can train in Ho Cho Minh City and deployers from the north can train up there,” Webb said.
Several other key partners have been instrumental in the process including the Office of Defense Cooperation – Vietnam, the Defense Institute for Medical Operations (DIMO), and the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). GPOI is working collaboratively with U.S. and international stakeholders to sustain operational effectiveness in peace operations and build the capacity of the UN and regional organizations to conduct such missions as the deployment in South Sudan. In 2019, the GPOI first reached out to Webb about this project.
“GPOI realized that Vietnam would benefit from developing their own self-sustaining ITLS Chapter to train UN deployers.”
According to the requirements stated in the United Nations Medical Support Manual, Vietnam must have advanced “pre-hospital trauma life support or equivalent training within 12 months of their deployment.” DIMO, GPOI, and the Oregon National Guard worked together to provide this support during the training, working toward the goal of generating 120 Vietnamese medical providers and nearly 20 instructors.
A deepening humanitarian crisis has evolved with the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan, causing substantial consequences for the country's health system. The urgent timing Webb established for this training is vital because the continued fighting has threatened the country’s fragile health system to a near collapse.
The Vietnam medical team will deploy to Bentiu, South Sudan at a Level- 2 hospital which will provide basic surgery and intensive care, advanced life support, as well as basic lab and radiology, dental, and hospital support.
“I’ve been impressed with the progress of the Vietnamese medical teams,” Webb explained heading into the next phase. “My role will only be as a monitor, as the evolutions from ITLS staff will look at hands-on skills, patient assessments, administrative support, the physical infrastructure of the training area, and a written final exam.”
While attending the Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange Conference held in Malaysia from September 26-29, 2023, Webb was able to present his work during a lecture detailing ITLS to a broader audience. This generated an energetic discussion about the importance of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program among the active duty personnel attending the symposium. Following the lecture, Webb was recognized by PACAF Command Surgeon Col. Susan Moran, not only for his ‘hands-on work’ to establish Vietnam’s first International Trauma Life Support Chapter but for “years of relationship building with Oregon SPP partner nations.” He also met with INDOPACOM Command Surgeon Navy Capt. Jeffrey Bitterman and the Army’s 18th Medical Command Surgeon General Army Maj. Gen. Paula Lodi to explain how partnering with the National Guard’s State Partnership Program can lead to better long-term and sustained relationships with partner countries.
Webb is quick to point out that all of this planning and training is a total team effort.
“There are several organizations and individuals that have made all this work possible. I am especially thankful for the support I’ve received from Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Markesino [Oregon National Guard State Partnership Program Director] and his team, along with Major Marie Messmer [Bilateral Affairs Officer, Offense of Defense Cooperation in the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi].”
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2023 10:39 |
| Story ID: | 459621 |
| Location: | SALEM, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 202 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Oregon National Guard helps Vietnam meet United Nations requirements for pre-hospital trauma certification, by John Hughel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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