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Reservists Keep Navy Hospital's Patient Care Mission Afloat During OIF
Story Number: NNS030627-10
Release Date: 6/27/2003 4:39:00 PM
By Journalist 1st Class AnTuan Guerry, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs
BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- When USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) deployed to the Arabian Gulf in January to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, it took with it more than 1,000 active-duty Sailors regularly assigned to the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC).
Consequently, more than 650 Navy Reservists received mobilization orders to NNMC to back-fill positions required for the hospital to maintain patient care.
Now that Comfort has returned, about 380 of the initial 650 reservists at NNMC have demobilized. The remaining Reservists are slated to depart by the end of August.
NNMC Reserve Liaison Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Priscilla Cullen, and her staff coordinated the Reserve mobilization process.
“We had a lot of help from different commands with the check-in process that made it really easy for us,” explained Cullen. “With the Comfort being deployed, we had a need for Sailors all over the hospital. We literally had to place Reservists in every area of the hospital.”
According to Chief Hospital Corpsman Alfred Linton, leading chief petty officer in the Reserve Liaison Office, the Reservists were placed in positions according to their Navy Enlisted Codes (NEC), or job specialty, and “wherever else they were needed.”
Outside of the more traditional hospitalman NECs, like radiologist, pharmacy technician and anesthesiologist, the Reservists also filled non-traditional roles, such as mail clerk, manpower management and security force.
However, even with the arrival of the Reservists, the command was still only about 50 percent back-filled, according to Cullen. To maintain proper productivity in some departments, the Reservists had to work twice as hard and perform double the work.
Linton, a Reservist from Detroit, thinks that it is a testament to the willingness of the Reservists to do whatever was required to get the job done. Despite low manning, the mission was accomplished.
“I’ve got reports back from all over the hospital on how well the Reservists have transitioned in and performed in their duties,” said Linton. “There were a lot of backlogs initially, but they worked hard with the remaining active-duty staff to get everything back up to speed, and in about a month, the productivity levels were back to pre-deployment levels.”
Cullen added, “The productivity was high enough that they even implemented military sick call, which they hadn’t done in a long time over at the Family Health Center.”
Capt. John Oudshoorn, department head in the Operating Room (OR), believes teamwork was the key in smoothly implementing Reservists.
“Initially, there were 45 Reservists assigned to the OR. Now, there are 11 left, nine of who are scheduled to leave by the first week of July. At one point prior to the Comfort’s return this month, about 75 percent of the staff in OR were Reservists,” explained Oudshoorn, a Reservist from Grand Haven, Mich. “The cooperation between active-duty and the Reservists was outstanding.”
Hospitalman Samuel Ramos, who works in Orthopedics and is one of the active-duty staff that remained at NNMC after Comfort’s deployment to the Gulf, believes that, along with the knowledge they brought, the Reservists also provided a morale boost.
“Those guys were great to work with. They jumped right in and landed running,” stated the Midland, Texas, native. “We went out together, as well as worked together. They are very down to earth people with no egos...I wish they didn’t have to go.”
The one thing Oudshoorn said he is most proud of is that the OR staff was able to serve all war casualties without interruption, meaning they saw emergency personnel without having to cancel scheduled (elective) patients.
“There was no limit as to the number or type of cases we were able to handle,” added Oudshoorn.
One would think that with transitioning from civilian to military, adjustments would have to be made. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class John DeBerry admitted that he had to make a few adjustments, and he pointed out one difference in particular.
“We had to be very patient when we started working with active-duty again,” started DeBerry, a Reservist from Champaign, Ill. “In the civilian sector, time is money. But, in the military, it’s more making sure the job is done right rather than just getting the job done.”
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class John Dalton, a Reservist out of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., believes that what they have accomplished, both since their arrival and during their tour on active duty at NNMC, is “pretty amazing.”
Being sent to NNMC with little to no knowledge of active-duty personnel or even other Reservists, could have posed a serious threat to carrying out the mission, according to Dalton.
“When we (Reservists) first arrived here, there was only a few regular staff here to show us what to do. We had to find where simple things like sponges were stored,” stated Dalton. “We took a building with people of all skills and ages from all over America and told them, ‘go do surgery,’ – and we did! …We shared our knowledge, shoved aside our egos and any prejudices we may have had and made it happen all in a very short period of time — and that’s awesome!”
For related news, visit the National Naval Medical Center Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nnmc.
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