European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a the stars and stripes thursday january 17,1991 crisis in the Gulf medical system not Battle tested . Military says by Laurie Garrett a. New Sony a a a Quot a a a in the event of War in the persian Gulf the . Military faces a medical treatment system that has never been Battle tested and an unprecedented Challenge in transporting wounded soldiers hundreds of Miles through desert conditions according to military medical experts. A a a a a a a a a a a v a a the experts said that the Pentagon a vision of a Swift intense War Means that Basic logistic problems such As transporting wounded soldiers from the front will be far More difficult than those faced in the korean or Vietnam wars. And casualties transported from the front will flood into medical facilities in Large numbers in a few Days rather than accumulating slowly Over time As was the Case in Vietnam. The huge size of the desert Battlefield coupled with the Lack of cover for we undid and possible sandstorms that May impede helicopter ambulance flights a will drive casualties into unprecedented numbers according to . Army col David say Adah chief clinical adviser in charge of planning medical preparedness and operations. / a a a. Moreover the entire Structure of military Medicine has changed since Vietnam say Adah said. First a there will be no More scoop and run Medicine a in which medics performed the first stage of treatment to Stop bleeding and infection. Doctors handled the second stage of emergency surgery in a Field Hospital and the wound was reopened later in a sophisticated Hospital where final cleanup surgery was performed. A the various experiences in Vietnam and elsewhere led to showing that it was better to try and do a Defini Tive operation the very first time a say Adah said noting that the new medical command Structure Calls for More specialists surgeons and operating Heaters within 50 Miles of the front and definitive treatment in areas not immune from enemy attack. The system both in terms of its Basic command Structure and modern equipment has been tested once a on the Island of St. Croix during Hurricane Hugo a a and was found to work Well say Adah said. Doctors said they could step into a portable air conditioned army operating room a called an Iso shelter and find their Way around As easily As they could in a civilian Hospital he said. A still the Novelty of both the facilities and Structure of medical delivery will mean that mistakes will be made in the first Days of War say Adah said. He said Pentagon planners recognize that medical personnel newly arrived in saudi Arabia May find it difficult to adapt quickly. A i think there is going to be a terrific Shock for these physicians Quot said or. Jennifer leaning of physicians for social responsibility. Leaning a Harvard medical school trauma care specialist said that All wartime Medicine begins roughly with Many errors. A you have a catch up of two months before things Click into motion. The problem with a 30-Day War is that we done to have the time to play catch up a leaning said. The Pentagon has classified most details about expected numbers of casualties available medical personnel and arrangements for civilian care. Army and Navy officials acknowledge however that n a cd n a in r l it it j i a t i there Are shortages of skilled personnel particularly Agrical specialists. Doctors trained in l 4 4. A n n r 1 h a a a a _ am my i _ _ u a a a. Trauma Burn and Surg r such Fields As obstetrics anti paediatrics will be perform my brain surgery and Burn therapy say Adah said adding a this is not worrisome because All our medical personnel Are heavily  Pentagon experts relying heavily upon israeli military experience in the Region also predict that combat stress and associated psychiatric disorders will represent prob Jems of unprecedented severity in a Gulf War. The intensity of a Battle fought simultaneously in air and on the ground with sophisticated Long Range weaponry in open desert is expected to push thousands of soldiers Over the Edge said Virginia Stephanidis spokeswoman for the army a surgeon Genera s office. The israelis have found that one of every three casualties is psychiatric. Given iraqis 500-mile-Range missile capabilities i country Hospital facilities will not be Safe and stress will be severe among medical personnel As Well. As a result officers have been trained to recognize stress symptoms and trained Counselor will be sent to the Field. Soldiers suffering from extreme stress will be sent to the rear where they will receive immediate and intense therapy with the goal of returning the combatants to their units within seven Days. A a. A t. A. Is amps l Emmett Lewis or. 1 pc. Steven Connolly a reservist medical lab technician from Grantsville Utah prepares a Gurney for donating blood m a tent that is part of the Frankfurt army regional hospitals medical module system. Military bed space in Europe to at least triple in wartime. By the stars and stripes As War looms in the persian Gulf military hospitals in Europe Are adding hundreds of Beds moving family health care to other facilities and readying contingency hospitals to receive War casualties. Bed space will at least triple by adding Beds to existing in patient facilities and opening the contingency or mothballed hospitals. Twenty . Military hospitals and clinics in Europe offer in patient care including 11 army seven air Force and two Navy. In peacetime they provide 1,953 figures for the army a wartime bed space Are classified said army maj. Freda Brame a . European come spokeswoman. The Navy has Beds for 146 people in wartime up from 78 available in peacetime. If War Breaks out the air Force will nearly double available bed space at its existing hospitals from 450 to 850 As Well As add 5,000 Beds at contingency hospitals in England and Germany Bramsc said. Interim care Between arrival in Europe and Transfer to a Hospital will be provided at aeromedical staging facilities. Seven such facilities have been set up in Europe. A. A a a of the 5,000 contingency Hospital Beds 500 Are at Raf Bicester 1,500 Are at Raf Little Tissington and 750 arc at Raf Nocton Hull All in England. A we Are prepared to Deal with these people that come through and take care of not Only their medical needs but All their emotional needs As Well a said col. Lawrence e. Stellmon commander of the 20th tac fighter Wing at Raf upper Heyford England. Upper Heyford is responsible for the two contingency hospitals at Bicester and Little Tissington. Contingency hospitals will not offer Long term care. A those that could be returned to duty would be a said capt. Steve Drinan commander of the Raf Nocton Hall Hospital. Those requiring More care would be transported to stateside hospitals. The Frankfurt army regional medical Center has a deployable medical system that contains an a Ray module a blood Bank and an equipment sterilization facility. The deployable system expands the army hospitals existing capabilities said chief warrant officer 3 John Ronglein Hospital chief of biomedical maintenance. Of Don t want a lot of waiting time if you have critical patients or trauma Type patients arriving from a combat zone a Romlein said. The blood Bank will triple the hospitals ability to draw process and store blood. A. To handle its anticipated added workload the Center is hiring 125 More workers ranging from nurses to warehouse workers. Other changes at the Frankfurt Hospital May include moving its paediatric clinic to the youth health Center behind Frankfurt High school at the Abrams Complex. If needed the emergency room and the adult health clinic would be transferred to Edwards Cavern some specially care such As obstetrics gynaecology May be transferred to German hospitals. At Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center the Newborn Nursery neonatal unit arid labor and delivery unit will be turned into a bum unit with up to 50 Beds. A full changeover will take about three Days said col. Thomas a. Verdon Hospital commander. Offices for the Hospital chaplain and outpatient services already have been converted to a medical Ward Verdon said. The Niernberg army Hospital is also preparing to treat War casualties. A if we go to Pur contingency Mission family members �?~v1 beneficiaries needing inpatient care will Eilt a t0 ocal German hospitals on Cham r a omitted to other army hospitals in Europe a said capt. Joan Rainey Hospital adjutant. Some outpatient clinics will move to Merrell Barracks on tuesday. They will include family practice outpatient psychiatry social work services and the physical exam unit among others. If hostilities break out paediatrics obstetrics gynaecology and other clinics will move to make room to serve desert shield casualties she said. Ten outlying clinics in the Niernberg Region will continue Normal services. The Hospital currently has a 175-bed capacity but this could be increased. The wartime capacity and number of deployed staff replaced with reservists from the United states is classified. Germans Are also willing to help. On wednesday a spokesman for Hildebrand Diehl the mayor of Wiesbaden said the City can take Over the care of 10,000 or More american civilians in its three hospitals. Other German civilian and military hospitals also Are planning to treat wounded service members officials have said. Contributing to Twila report were staff Wrt Tere deeded Arrington Doke and i8��Germany Amy gels Jer Jones and Muri Din Winder in England Gary Pomeroy in Frankfurt Germany Mary Neth in Darmstadt Germany and Effle Bathen in Nurnberg Germany