Expeditionary doctor spearheads diver medical training in Mexico

Photo By Lance Cpl. Kris Daberkoe | Cmdr. Matthew Turner with U.S. Northernern Command congratulates Mexican navy sailors upon completion of the clinical hyperbaric training course at the Search, Rescue and Diving School in Acapulco, Mexico, Feb. 24. A group of U.S. Navy medical specialist instructed the course for 30 Mexican navy physicians, nurses and divers.  

ACAPULCO, GUERRERO, MEXICO

03.09.2012

Story by Seaman Kay Savarese 

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A team of U.S. Navy medical specialists deployed to Acapulco, Mexico Search, Rescue and Diving School, Feb. 18 to 25, to teach a training course focusing on hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in response to a request from the Mexican navy.

This type of training opportunity marks a first in U.S. Navy history, where U.S. forces put together a clinical medical course, as well as instructed the course on behalf of a foreign navy.

Capt. Bruce A. Cohen, Force Surgeon at Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, directed the course. Cohen holds a Fellowship in Hyperbaric/Hypobaric Medicine from Duke University Medical Center.

A hyperbaric chamber is a sealed cylindrical chamber that artificially reproduces the hyperbaric pressure conditions found under the sea. The contained environment created by the chamber allows for an isolated form of oxygen therapy used in many diving-related and non-diving medical applications. These chambers are essential in preventing and treating decompression sickness in divers.

“The intent was to provide a series of courses training Mexican navy personnel in the operations and training procedures for hyperbaric chambers, and assist them in establishing a military certification process for trained personnel,” said Cohen.

In September of 2011, Cohen met with Mexican officials to discuss the goals of the fellowship between the two nations. He then assembled a team of colleagues; Capt. Brett B. Hart, head of the Hyperbaric Training Department at the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute; Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Dennis Polli, the fleet medical master chief at U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and Master Chief Mitchell T. Pearce, the force medical master chief at NECC, and gathered current materials to prepare a 40-hour training course for the Mexican navy.

The primary focus was on chamber operations, wound care, and basic medicine for treatment of patients in a hyperbaric environment. During the five-day course, the two navies worked together sharing knowledge, discussing case studies, and participating in lectures and group interactions.

A group of 30 Mexican navy physicians, nurses and divers from all over the country attended the course in the newly renovated Search, Rescue and Diving School in Acapulco. The school provides students with a state of the art facility and the latest technology including a hyperbaric chamber, real-time instant translators, and electronic whiteboards.

This initial training was the first of four proposed courses. The following courses will allow the students from the first course to transition into a training role by the final course. Upon completion of the series, the Mexican sailors will be instructing the course and have established a certification process.

“As an educator, I was very pleased with this first outcome, I think this has a good future and the students will certainly be able to take it over by the fourth course,” said Cohen. “I look forward to going back and watching the program grow.”

This series of training courses will assist in educating trainers and skilled operators for these medical devices.

• Date Taken: 03.09.2012
• Date Posted: 03.09.2012 09:37
• Story ID: 84993
• Location: ACAPULCO, GUERRERO, MX