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The nation, Army and Army Medical Department (AMEDD) are at war; therefore, the mission of every soldier and civilian is to stay focused on the soldier who is protecting the country in this global war on terrorism. Everything the Army does around the world must be focused on and in support of this war effort.

The imperatives that define the AMEDD are quality, empowerment, discipline and service. All that we do and how we do it can be expressed as a function of these imperatives.

Quality simply means that, whatever we do, we do it to the best of our abilities. The AMEDD's dedication to quality has paid benefits on the battlefield. During Operation Desert Storm, 22 percent of all battle casualties did not survive their wounds. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, less than 10 percent of wounded servicemembers have died of their wounds.

In addition, improved disease prevention and environmental surveillance has cut the disease rate to the lowest level of any U.S. war.

Beyond that, medical professionals in our garrison hospitals work hard every day to provide medical care of the highest quality.

All Army hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Monitoring by the National Quality Management Program indicates that the quality of care received in Army health-care facilities consistently meets, and often exceeds, civilian benchmarks.

Graduates of Army residency and fellowship programs pass their board certification tests on the first try at a rate of 96 percent, well above the national average. Approximately 93 percent of Army physicians eligible for specialty board certification are certified.

Emergency medicine residents at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Lewis, Wash., tied for the highest score in the nation on annual in-service examinations. This was the fifth straight year Fort Hood's residents have led the nation on this test, taken by residents in more than 120 graduate medical education programs around the country.

Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and the Army Trauma Training Center in Miami, FIa., were among five military medical organizations recognized by the Department of Defense with patient safety awards in 2004.

I cannot list all the individuals who have been recognized for outstanding work, but let me mention one accomplishment of which I am proud. AUSA established the Sgt. Maj. Larry Strickland Education Leadership Award in 2003 to recognize a senior noncommissioned officer who shapes future leaders through education. Through the first two years of this award the winners have been members of the AMEDD-Sgt. Maj. Stephen E. Spadaro of Dental Command in 2003 and Sgt. Maj. David Litteral of the AMEDD Center and School last year.

Empowerment means giving subordinates a mission and resources-time, people, money, space and more-and then holding those empowered accountable for their performance. In a worldwide medical organization at war, empowerment is necessary to accomplish what must be done.

One of the great successes in current combat operations has been the AMEDD's initiative to push health-care resources closer to the front lines and the point of injury. This is reflected in the advanced skills of the 91W combat medics, in the use of forward surgical teams in advance of the combat support hospitals, in extensive training of combat lifesavers and this year's expansion of first-aid skills among the common tasks taught to all soldiers. We are giving people at the initial point of action the skills to deal with problems immediately, and lives are being saved as a result.

The philosophy of empowerment follows a similar dynamic: just as medical care closer to the front saves lives, so decision-making authority close to the point of action can make units more effective and save time, money and other resources.

As Gen. George S. Patton said, "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Medical organizations are showing ingenuity and taking initiative to meet the challenges they face. Here are a few examples: At Fort Stewart, Ga., where thousands of Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers mobilize for deployment, the hospital created a department of mobilization medical services. It supervises the medical soldier readiness processing (SRP) service, operates a fulltime troop medical clinic for the National Guard training area, and provides same-day consultation to the SRP site and primary care for more than 700 medical holdover soldiers. This led to quick evaluations and dispositions for mobilized soldiers.

At Fort Bragg, N.C., the 82nd Airborne Division uses a forward-deployed mobile training team to bring combat medics up to speed on 91W medical skills. With all three of the division's brigade combat teams deployed, the team provided military occupational specialty qualifying training to 300 91Ws, gave 180 91Ws emergency medical technician refresher training and conducted combat lifesaver training.

# posted by Medical Information : 1:14 PM