Photo By Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel | Spc. Erick Torres, administration specialist and casualty liaison team member, 502nd...... read more read more
BAGHDAD --When a Multi-National Division " Baghdad Soldier is injured or becomes seriously ill while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Casualty Liaison Teams working at hospital facilities in Iraq, Germany and the United States, track the Soldier's status and location so family members and the unit commander can stay informed.
The purpose of CLTs is to ensure accountability for all patients who travel through the medical system.
"It's important so we can accurately report the status and locations of all patients to their commanders, including the commanding general, who wants to know about them all," said 1st Lt. John Kiraly, MND-B patient administration division officer, 4th Infantry Division.
"Members of CLTs are division representatives who work at hospitals. Their duties include ensuring that the Soldier's demographic and injury information is recorded," said Kiraly. Their primary duty is to relay the information to the Soldier's unit, and the Patient Administration Division officer provides a timely picture of the Soldiers continuing condition, he said.
A CLT team is composed of representatives from the division surgeon's office, the 502nd Personnel Services Battalion and the division personnel section. By designing the teams such as this, all aspects of the mission are kept up to date, said Kiraly
Team members gather patient information from either the Enlisted or Officer Record Brief. Data about the Soldier's injury and status is recorded, and medics then translate the information into laymen's terms and report the Soldier's status to the patient's commander, said Kiraly.
CLTs are a new concept. After receiving a directive from the commanding general, the personnel services, division services and battalion commanders developed a plan to accommodate it, said Kiraly.
CLTs monitor all patients, not only those suffering combat injuries. Recording and tracking of all Soldiers" illnesses assists the CLTs in relaying pertinent information to division headquarters, said Kiraly.
The attending physician classifies the illness or injury as one of three status categories: not seriously injured, seriously injured or very seriously injured. The category then affects the timeliness factor insofar as notifying the next of kin, said Kiraly.
"There are three levels of care in theater. Level One is the battalion aid station; Level Two is the brigade clinic, which is part of the brigade support battalion and is an actual medical facility. Hospitals in theater, such as the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad and the 332nd Emergency Medical Group, a U. S. Air Force hospital, are categorized as Level Three," said Kiraly.
Long-term fixed facilities, such as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, are Level Four facilities, said Kiraly.
"Long-term accountability is necessary at those (Level Four) sites," said Kiraly, and "CLTs at those sites attend to the needs of the patient and their family members who stay with them."
Commanders at the battalion, brigade and division levels are made aware of issues regarding injured Soldiers, such as where they've been medically evacuated to and whether they've had a chance to let loved ones know that they're doing okay. If more treatment is required, the CLTs communicate with the Soldier's commander to ensure paperwork is in order for the Soldier to leave theater, said Kiraly.
CLTs also streamline some of the obstacles Soldiers face while in the medical evacuation system, said Kiraly.
"Soldiers need to be able to talk to their units, and CLTs relay patient concerns to them. They also provide Soldiers and commanders with points of contact along the medical evacuation system," he added.
It is also important to put a familiar face at the medical facilities so patients can talk with other 4th Inf. Div. Soldiers, said Kiraly.
"With one of our CLT Soldiers at the site," he said, "we have more latitude in making decisions regarding the patient because we can talk with our liaison. The CLT liaison can interface with both the physician at the CSH and with the Soldier's unit physician. Sometimes the battalion doctor will have questions such as, "Why is the patient moving to another facility?" The CLT liaison facilitates the communication between the two doctors," he explained.
CLTs assist Soldiers" families as well. At Level Four facilities, for instance, depending on the seriousness of the Soldier's injuries, authorized family members may be issued invitational travel orders, which pays for the family's travel to be with the Soldier at the hospital, said Kiraly. The CLTs arrange for transportation and lodging for the family members and strive to meet any of their other needs.
CLTs also monitor a voucher program, which authorizes injured Soldiers to purchase $250 of personal items at AAFES. Since injured Soldiers are usually evacuated in haste, they don't often have clothes or personal hygiene items. The voucher allows them to purchase items they are missing without having to pay for them, said Kiraly.
The CLT provides valuable assistance for Soldiers who are ill or injured. Their actions directly affect the ability to relay timely and accurate information to their commanders and their families, said Kiraly.
"We care about our Soldiers who become patients, and we're going to do whatever we can to help them and their families," said Kiraly.
CLT personnel assist the hospital in any way they can, even helping carry Soldiers from the helicopter to the emergency or operating room, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Billy Frittz, casualty operations technician, 502nd Personnel Services Battalion.
"CLT personnel gather the Soldier's name and social security number for us so we can begin to prepare a casualty report at this level," he said.
Once completed, casualty reports are sent to Multi-National Coalition " Iraq for quality assurance and to the Department of the Army for notification of next of kin if required, said Frittz.
"Our mission is getting data on the Soldier and assisting the Soldiers recovery by providing a Soldier they can talk to," said Frittz. "Our guys (personnel service clerks) also (physically) walk the chain of command to where their Soldier is in the hospital during visits, which benefits the hospital because they don't have to stop what they're doing."
The most beneficial service the CLT provides commanders is visibility of their troops as they travel through the medical process, said Frittz.
"Without our personnel on the ground, they wouldn't be able to link up with those Soldiers. You see a Soldier not make it; that's hard," said Frittz. "But when a Soldier survives, being able to go in there to talk to them, and see the smile on their face, makes everything we do worthwhile."
It takes a special type of person to work on the CLTs, said Frittz, because a lot of what they do is perhaps not the most glamorous job. However, it requires them to always have a warm heart for the Soldiers they assist.
One challenge for CLTs is the coordination required between them and hospital personnel, said Frittz.
"While the hospital is trying to assist and render aid to the Soldier, the CLTs are trying to complete the casualty information mission. Simultaneous accomplishment of both is essential. We build a working relationship with the hospitals so we don't get in each other's way," he said.
"I'm proud of the guys that work down there."
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2006 12:40 |
| Story ID: | 6316 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 476 |
| Downloads: | 74 |
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