Elmendorf Hospital named Best in the Air Force.

  • Published
  • By Capt. Kelley Jeter
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  It only took 100 words to convince the Air Force Surgeon General of what Elmendorf officials already knew about the 3rd Medical Group: that the Elmendorf Hospital is the best in the Air Force.

At the Department of Defense Military Health Systems annual conference last month, the Air Force announced its choice after reviewing award package submissions from the worldwide spectrum of its health care organizations, naming the Arctic Medics as the most impressive of them all.

The submission was limited to just 100 words, which is not much space to capture all the outstanding and precedent-setting accomplishments from the 3rd MDG last year. Being as succinct as possible, part of the package articulated the numbers behind the accomplishments, while the other part focused more on the innovations.

Some of the innovations from the group last year included: the "Bringing Alaskans Home" initiative, the intense planning for a return and "reset" of an entire U.S. Army Airborne brigade and an Army National Guard battalion from war zones, establishing a traumatic brain injury (TBI) capability, greatly enhancing its capabilities through its Joint Venture program with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Taakti Topcover program.

"Bringing Alaskans Home" is a program created by 3rd Medical Group leadership that brought 133 warriors wounded in Iraq home to Alaska, rather than leaving them in lower-48 facilities. The program not only brought the patients home, assisting in the healing process, it gave the Arctic Medics extra training in healing combat injuries, and took great financial strain off the families, who often bore the expense of billeting themselves near their loved ones.

The planning that was required for the return and "reset" of an entire airborne brigade from a war zone is something no other hospital in the Air Force has been asked to do.

"The 3rd Medical Group leadership partnered with the Army Medical Command leaders to take on the shared responsibility of bringing in additional medical staff for the task of taking care of the health care needs of an Army brigade and an Army National Guard battalion, both of which simultaneously returned from extensive tours in OIF/OEF," said Maj. Bob McCurry, director of the Anchorage MultiService Market Office in the 3rd MDG. Leadership was able to secure 50 extra people and $1.7 million in funding for the added requirements.

Bringing several thousand soldiers home from the war zone also brought challenges that are new to many medics. New forms of armor and protective devices have led to high levels of survival in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, but the militants' weapon of choice, the IED, has also created thousands of brain injuries. The 3rd Medical Group anticipated and prepared for this inevitability even as the soldiers were departing in 2006. So far, 94 returned soldiers have been treated for traumatic brain injury in the TBI clinic set up especially for this anticipated need.

The Joint Venture between the 3MDG and the VA also created opportunities for great improvements in patient care in 2007.

"In this past year, we have increased access by more than 200 percent for veterans in areas such as orthopedics and ophthalmology," said Dan Anderson, 3rd MDG Joint Venture and Manpower manager. "We also were approved for joint incentive fund projects in several areas. These projects not only provide better access to care for veterans, but also save dollars for both agencies by working together."

Fifty-six VA joint replacements accomplished by the medics at the Elmendorf hospital saved $407,000 by not referring them off base, enhanced readiness training and increased the surgery capacity by 218 percent for MDG and 239 percent for VA, again proving the value of the Joint Venture.

Another program that illustrated the 3rd MDG's innovation is the Taakti Topcover program that partners Arctic Medics with a civilian organization that makes trips to rural Alaska to provide health care.

This program gives 3rd MDG Airmen the opportunity to train in an austere environment, testing their ability to adapt and save lives. They go to small, remote, Alaskan villages and set up clinics for general practice, dentistry, optometry, and provide health education opportunities for the schoolchildren. In 2007, the medics saw these underserved patients in 345 appointments, and conducted 53 various medical procedures.

The year was also good for the 3rd MDG in that they "recaptured" expenses due to referrals.

In 2006, due to the large number of deployments among 3rd MDG Airmen, referrals for care outside the Elmendorf hospital were at an all-time high. Referrals cost money and recapturing those expenses -- bringing the appointments back on base -- was a priority in 2007 leading to a $360,000 savings.

As the 3rd MDG staff moves into another busy year, they get to reflect on all their great ideas and hard work in 2007 by calling themselves "Best in the Air Force."

Major McCurry summed it up: "I think, in essence, what we have done and will continue to do, is function as an efficient, well-disciplined team that takes great pride in executing our commander's vision of 'always looking for opportunities to say YES!'"