European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Friday january 14,1994 Vicenza Hospital gets year s reprieve Bevin Ccrawley staff writer the army Hospital in Vicenza Italy will remain open until june 1995, one year later than previously announced officials disclosed thursday. The decision follows a town Hall meet ing this week in which More than 400 members of the Vicenza military Community met with a senior Pentagon health care official who promised a speedy re View of the closure order. As part of medical reductions through out the forces in Europe Vicenza s hos Pital was scheduled last july to close this year. Inpatient services were to be transferred to a nearby italian Hospital. Many in the audience of the monday night meeting told or. Edward d. Martin that they were concerned about a Lan Guage Barrier and an italian medical sys tem that is unfamiliar to americans. Martin the acting assistant Secretary of defense for health affairs is touring Europe to hear medical grievances among service members civilians and families. The decision to extend services another year was made following a review of the Community s medical draw Down plan according to a statement by the 7th medical come Public affairs office headquartered in Heidelberg Germany. Army officials Are in Universal agreement that Vicenza does not have a Large enough population to economically support a full spectrum of medical care the army in Europe s chief sur Geon maj. Gen. Michael j. Scotti jr., said in the statement. However the intense feelings within health from Page 1 the funds is among several actions he will take resulting from his recent open forums and Tours of army Navy and air Force medical facilities across Europe. Martin said he identified a Large number of potential improvements that can be made establish a Tri care program in which the three branches of service will coordinate and integrate health Careon a regional basis. Continue the champs office in Europe but change and augment its Mission. He did not give any specifics. Champs is the civilian health and medical program of the uni formed services a program for service members families and military retirees who seek medical care from private physicians. Look More closely at the health care system for other defense depart ment employees especially depart ment of defense dependents schoolteachers with the aim of updating their insurance programs and ensuring accurate Billing. Using a More effective approach such As the one used in Niernberg Ger  the face of a rapid draw Down the Niernberg military Community was educated Over several months on the use of local health services delaying the closure of the Vicenza Italy Hospital. Also during his visit Martin approved a routine primary care arid emergency care Pilot program for Active duty serv ice members and Martin their dependents. In communities with fewer than 100 Active duty sponsors the program would allow patients to be treated at local facilities without Cost sharing. Martin said that his office Hopes to explore other options with local health care providers to treat defense department personnel and their families. One arrangement May include a Type of hmm or health management organization such As those stateside. In addition to Well publicized open forum meetings in three european Mil itary communities Martin also toured numerous health care facilities including those at Niernberg Frankfurt and nearby Rhein main a Stuttgart and Lan Stuhl in Germany. During the town Hall meetings in Germany and Italy Martin was met by packed audiences. People voiced their concerns Over dwindling medical services. A problem repeatedly expressed was the frustration of trying to obtain medi Cal care from people who do not speak English. For every horror Story you re going to have 88 people saying you folks medical personnel on the Economy really did a Good Job " Martin said. Martin said the most asked question he received was Are you going to take care of us although optimistic Martin con ceded that the fact is there will continue to be a  the Community regarding the medical draw Down have not been resolved to Date Scotti said in the statement Martin has assured the Community that adequate funding will be available for the Hospital to remain open Scotti said. Martin has also promised adequate funding for medical liaisons and interpreters for the eventual changeover to italian health care the statement said. Officials from the 7th medical come and the Southern european task Force will spend the next 18 months building a support system to smooth the transition Scotti said. The continued inpatient care also Means immediate action will be taken to temporarily reverse downsizing plans for the Vicenza Hospital. These actions will affect individuals currently assigned to the Vicenza medical facility and scores of others who will be reassigned to Italy on Short notice Scot isaid. In monday night s meeting one woman said an italian Hospital staff used potentially lethal Eye drops on her 3 year old son and that she later Learned the drops Are not allowed to be pre scribed in the United states. Fuel from Navy s tireless pumps is life blood for Balkan Mission by Marian Hamilton Mediterranean Bureau Nas Simonella Sicily filler up must have been an overused phrase during 199$ for Simonella fuel handlers who out pumped their Peers in support of operation deny flight a naval officer in charge of the operation said. The naval station s fuels control division doubled its Normal operation by pumping More than 48 million Gallons of Jp-5 aircraft fuel in the last 12 months said it. Jim Blum fuels officer for the facility also known locally As the fuel  the extra workload came in part from fueling planes for the deny flight missions to enforce the United nations no Fly ban Over Bosnia and Herzegovina Blum said. About 25 percent of the fuel goes to p-3 Turboprop reconnaissance aircraft he added. The 100th air refuelling Wing at Raf Mildenhall England and the 86th Wing at Ramstein a Germany also provided fuel for operation deny flight in 1993. During that period Ramstein s Crew members pumped 36.5 million Gallons of Jp-8 Jet fuel and Mildenhall s 86 Crew members handled about 49.9 million Gallons of Jp-8, military officials said. It s a personal record for Simonella Blum said. We went from receiving fuel three times a week prior to May to receiving fuel five or six Days a week from May until october. We were fueling 1,300 to 1,500 aircraft. About 200 a month were Kc-135 tankers at one Point. Now we re Down to about 1,100 aircraft a month including about two tankers a  the extra work was done Blum said while the Simonella fueling Crew was Short about eight to 10 people. We got by with 23 to 24 Crew members working a 24-hour on 24-hour off schedule they have 31 people now 12 civilians and the rest sailors. Blum attributes some of the unit s Success to having Good people one of which was Petty officer 1st class Wilkin Sherrod his leading Petty officer. Sherrod filled in As an interim chief Petty officer until one arrived in september. Before the chief got Here Sherrod was my right hand Man. He handled the Day to Day business of the unit he said. When Blum was t there Sherrod ran the unit. Jp-5 is fuel that the Navy prefers because it is considered safer fuel officials said. Jp-5 ignites at a higher temperature which presents less of a danger aboard ships they said. The air Force prefers Jp-8 because it gives slightly better performance but is More volatile. Dod May sell excess vehicles to Lebanon Washington is defense department officials announced wednesday that Lebanon wants to buy 175 excess armoured personnel carriers stored in Europe. If the Sale is approved by Congress the pcs will be used to step up the lebanese army s my 13 vehicle inventory. They will be equipped with communications gear machine guns and logistics equipment. Officials said the tracked vehicles will be sold for $37 million in As is condition. A Pentagon statement said that these vehicles Are no longer required by Active . Army units or useful for War Reserve or contingency planning and that the Sale would not affect the Basic military balance in the re  in addition the statement said the Sale will contrib Ute to the foreign policy and National Security of the . By helping Lebanon enhance its capability to provide for its own Security and  tubes of Radium reportedly used on Navy trainees by newday Washington thousands of military person Nel including perhaps 5,000 submarine trainees received Radium treatments for Middle ear problems in the 1940s and beyond and should be studied for Possi ble Long term effects of the radiation two researcher said wednesday. The Radium treatments involve the largest group of personnel exposed to radiation other than those who served near atomic bomb tests said or. Alan Ducat Man an environmental health specialist at the West Virginia University medical school. Unlike some of the radiation experiments that have drawn Public attention in recent weeks the procedures were intended to provide a medical Benefit. Such Radium treatments also were used widely in civilian medical practice at the time to shrink chronically swollen adenoids in children. Ducatman said he found no evidence that anything even remotely resembling modern informed consent was Given to the trainees who received the treatments routinely throughout the 1950s. Ducatman and Stewart Farber a Public health specialist from Pawtucket r.i., discussed the Radium treatments in a 1992 letter to the new England journal of Medicine. They cited a study on the use of Radium in 1946 on 732 of 6,149 trainees at the Navy s submarine school in new London Conn. The procedure called for inserting Radium containing tubes up through the nostrils. The procedure was used to shrink tissue at the opening of the eustachian tubes that Lead to the Middle ear. The intent was to prevent the ear pain and balance problems that can result from pressure changes during underwater escape tests. Ducatman said Radium also was used on . Military pilots to help them Cope with atmospheric pressure changes during night. But Farber and Ducatman said the Radium treat ments also May have exposed the military personnel unwittingly to a higher risk of head and neck cancers. The scientific data Are inadequate to judge the Long term effects of the Radium treatments Ducatman said