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AFRC News

Reserve partnership prepares medical Airmen for future deployments

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Steve Lewis
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  When part time medical and dental technicians from the 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron learned about an opportunity to hone their skills in a civilian hospital setting, they geared up and had boots on the ground in Scottsdale, Arizona, this summer.

The reserve Airmen from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, attended a two-week training course offered through the Air Force Reserve and HonorHealth, July 18-29. Located on a 7,500-square-foot training center within an active medical center campus, the HonorHealth Military Partnership Program is open to all branches of the military.

512th AMDS Airmen participated in HonorHealth’s Readiness Skill Sustainment Program, which rotates medical service members through refresher training, trauma lectures and almost 40 hours of clinical work. Over a 10-day period the Airmen were exposed to various operating rooms, intensive care units, burn clinics and dental facilities that typically available during a standard drill weekend at home.

“We want to train as many military medical professionals as we can by giving them an opportunity to practice their craft before they get deployed,” said Lenore Portante, HonorHealth Military Partnership office supervisor.

Since 2004, this skills refresher training site has hosted numerous U.S. Air Force Reserve units like the 512th AMDS for their annual tour training. By pairing service members with civilian medical professionals, the program provides a unique hands-on experience in a local community setting.

For Tech. Sgt. Christina Donato, 512th AMDS medical technician, training alongside civilian nurses and providing patient care was a valuable experience. Throughout her time in the medical center, she treated emergency room traumas ranging from automobile and motorcycle accidents to stroke victims. When Donato isn’t wearing hospital scrubs or an Airman Battle Uniform, she works a full-time and non-medical position with the U.S. Navy.

“If we could get more civilian hospitals to provide programs like the military partnership with HonorHealth, it would be beneficial to our members,” said Donato. “We really need this one-on-one contact with real patients, so if more training programs and hospital work were provided, we’d be a better Air Force for it.”

The 512th AMDS Airmen completed the two-week program with a culminating field trauma exercise that tested their abilities to provide urgent care to a simulated patient. “Combat Hal” was a victim of an improvised explosive device blast while out on patrol, but through the medical technician’s rapid response, Hal’s life was saved.

The mixture of practical exercises, briefings and live patient care provided Dover’s medical and dental technicians with the level of training necessary to perform their duties both at home and in the field. Through innovative partnerships the Air Force Reserve has with organizations like HonorHealth, citizen Airmen are better equipped to perform the mission.