Archive | December 7, 2011 | Armed with Science

Nurse case managers help wounded warriors receive optimal health care

Filed under Life Sciences by Julie Weckerlein on December 7, 2011 at 1:18 pm {2 comments}

By Rachel Parks, III Corps and Fort Hood Public Affairs

On any given day, the Soldiers of the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Brigade are undertaking a number of medical appointments as they navigate the path to healing and transitioning back into the military or into the civilian world.

Every step of the way, the Soldiers are supported by registered nurse case managers, who help coordinate the best care available for wounded warriors.

To the Soldiers of the Warrior Transition Brigade, or WTB, the nurse case managers are advocates, supporters and friends, who make sure the medical providers and the military chain of command are communicating clearly regarding the wounded warriors.

Cynthia Basham, a registered nurse case manager with the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Brigade, speaks with Staff Sgt. Christine Einig-Blackwell, a WTB squad leader Nov. 4, 2011. The nurse case managers serve as advocates and liaisons with Soldiers of the WTB, helping to keep lines of communication open about their care and treatment. Photo by Rachel Parks, III Corps and Fort Hood Public Affairs

“Our job here as the nurse case managers, is basically to coordinate all medical care so there’s a continuation of treatment for these guys and that everybody is on the same page,” said Cynthia Basham, a registered nurse case manager with Company C, 1st Battalion, WTB. (more…)

DoD 2011 NPLD Project – Burrow Masters 2011, Umatilla Chemical Depot

Filed under Earth Sciences, Education & Culture by Carla Voorhees on December 6, 2011 at 9:26 am {no comments}

DoD is funding 41 National Public Lands Day (NPLD) sites on military installations in 2011. The event encourages volunteers to explore and enjoy America’s natural wonders through outdoor recreation. Find out more about one of these projects below.

Oregon (Umatilla Chemical Depot, Army): Participants dug burrows for Burrowing Owls, acquired GPS locations for all burrow sites, provided training and knowledge about owl ecology to volunteers, and helped make progress towards supporting 75+ nesting pairs in 2012. Umatilla Chemical Depot wants to become a source population of Burrowing Owls for the Pacific Northwest.

: A burrowing owl that has been coming back to the installation for 3 years, his name is “Groucho”.

: Volunteers installing artificial burrows.

: A volunteer removes the top bucket (which we fill with dirt) to gain access to the burrow so we can reach down into the burrow and remove chicks for banding. The bottom bucket has the bottom cut out.

: The first resident of the artificial burrows, her name is “Buffie”. We had installed the artificial burrow the day before she moved in the next morning! Next to her is the entance to the ten foot tunnel that leads to the burrow.

: A chick removed from the burrow for banding.

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Recycling saves Keesler hospital $62,000

Filed under Earth Sciences by Julie Weckerlein on December 5, 2011 at 1:47 pm {no comments}

The Keesler Hospital’s operating room is once again “going green” on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

Joan Sullivan passes Capt. Wendy Wilkins a remanufactured harmonic scalpel used for laparoscopic procedures Oct. 18, 2011, at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Sullivan is an account manager for Stryker/Ascent Sustainability and Wilkins is an 81st Surgical Operations Squadron operating room nurse. (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Pivnick)

In 2004, Capt. Wendy Wilkins, an 81st Surgical Operations Squadron operating room nurse, began reprocessing the Flowtron compression hoses used in the operating rooms. Unfortunately, the reprocessing program wasn’t reestablished during the hospital’s rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

When Captain Wilkins returned to Keesler last November, she revitalized the program.

In May, the captain met with a representative of Stryker/Ascent Sustainability, the hose reprocessor, to research other supply recycling options and then presented the information to 81st Medical Group surgeons.

“We had to get their buy-in since they would be the product users — otherwise all our efforts would be a waste of time,” she explained. “They agreed to use the refurbished items but made it clear that if they had any problems, we would go back to purchasing new supplies.

“Terms such as ‘single-use items’ and ‘expired/unopened supplies’ seem to make reprocessing difficult to understand,” the captain continued.

“People think, ‘I don’t want something dirty used on me.’” Wilkins pointed out that “single-use” is a manufacturer’s term, not one used by the Food and Drug Administration.

Once the FDA grants the ability to reprocess an item, that product can be stripped down, reassembled, cleaned and functionally checked for repackaging, sterilization and redistribution. (more…)

U.S. Marines Set Up Austere Landing Zone

Filed under Technology by Carla Voorhees on December 2, 2011 at 12:22 pm {one comment}

By U.S. Army Specialist Michelle C. Lawrence, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Public Affairs

CHABELLEY AIRFIELD, Djibouti – As the sun slowly descended behind the mountains overlooking Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, a small group of U.S. Marines quickly prepared their gear to turn a barren stretch of desert into a makeshift runway.

U.S. Marine Sergeant Blake Alvarez, Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team air traffic control communication technician, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, sets up a phantom light while creating an austere landing zone at Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti. (U.S. Army photo by Specialist Michelle C. Lawrence)

For the Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team (MMT), a six-man team from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, homeported at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, setting up an austere landing zone (ALZ) in time for an aircraft to safely land is just part of the job.

“We’re marking an airfield so they can have a safe space to land,” said U.S. Marine 1st Lieutenant Brian Taylor, MMT team leader. “It aids the pilots to land within the thresholds and know the distances of how far they have to stop and take off.”

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NRL Partners with Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Efforts [VIDEO]

Filed under Earth Sciences, STEM by Carla Voorhees on December 1, 2011 at 3:32 pm {no comments}

By Daniel Parry, Naval Research Lab

Located on Maryland’s Western Shore, the Naval Research Lab (NRL) Chesapeake Bay Detachment (CBD), a 168-acre facility used for research and field testing of radar, remote sensing and optical and laser technologies, is now host to the latest addition to the state’s oyster restoration and revitalization effort and the Navy’s commitment toward improving overall water quality and enhancing and improving existing wildlife habitats in the Bay.

Young oysters will spend their first year in cages suspended from the CBD pier. Later, they may be planted on local sanctuaries where the oysters can enrich the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and Bay oyster populations. Credit: Jamie J. Hartman/NRL Photographer

Working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, oyster shell substrate and harvested oyster larvae, ‘spat,’ have been suspended in cages in the waters along the facility’s 400-foot pier. The young oysters will remain suspended in cages for their first year of life. Once matured, the adult oysters are planted on local sanctuaries, enriching the Bay ecosystem and contributing to the Bay oyster population.

According to Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Bay’s oyster population has been devastated by disease, overharvesting and water quality problems. Initiatives similar to the one at NRL allow oysters to reproduce and hopefully, over time, develop natural resistance to diseases that have imperiled native oysters and other mollusks.

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DoD 2011 NPLD Project – Women in Bloom Memorial Garden, Aberdeen Proving Ground

Filed under Earth Sciences, Education & Culture by Carla Voorhees on December 1, 2011 at 11:02 am {one comment}

Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) completed its major Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) transformation this September, becoming the Army’s center for research, development, engineering, and science. Our NPLD project is collaborative effort to enhance both natural and cultural resources. We combined pollinator habitat creation with development of a memorial that celebrates military and civilian women’s achievements in research and development since the establishment of APG in 1917.