Joint team provides lifesaving assistance throughout Pacific

  • Published
  • By Lt Col Toni Kemper
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Two-year-old John Terorio's prognosis looks good thanks to a joint team of staff, medical personnel and aircrew from Hawaii. That wasn't the case two weeks ago when 13th Air Force's Theater Patient Movement Requirements Center at Hickam received a request from a Saipan pediatrician requesting critical assistance for the child who was suffering from pneumonia with subsequent organ system failure. 

The administrative portion of the requirement was quickly validated by a TPMRC patient movement clerk and referred to the patient movement clinical coordinator who contacted the validating flight surgeon for the urgent, priority move. The validating flight surgeon in this case was Lt. Col. Jimmy Barrow. The requirement was then forwarded to the 613th Air and Space Operations Center's Aeromedical Evacuation Control Team to task available aircrew and aircraft to support the mission. The TPMRC also contacted the Pacific Regional Medical Command's Tripler Army Medical Center to support the mission with a pediatric intensivist, critical care nurse, respiratory therapist, third year pediatric resident and blood products. 

Within 36 hours, Lt. Col. Lynda Vu, 13th AF Validating Surgeon, along with an aeromedical evacuation team from Detachment 1, 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, with Reserve augmentation from March AFB, Calif., and C-17 crew from the 535th Airlift Squadron at Hickam, departed on the 8-hour flight to Saipan. The team was met in Saipan by a pediatrician and ambulance. 

The critical care team stabilized the patient and were enroute back to Hawaii within three hours. After touching down in Hawaii, the Hickam Fire Emergency Services transported baby John to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu. Since his ordeal began two weeks ago, he's been taken off the ventilator, has regained his organ functions, and his future is looking bright. 

"These types of missions are extremely rewarding," said Colonel Vu. "The TPMRC is a joint and total team of active duty and reserve Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors. We validate patient movement requirements for the Pacific theater, determine level of care and coordinate reception requirements at the sending and receiving destinations. A lot of different organizations are involved in saving military and civilian lives throughout the region." 

Maj. Matthew Zehr, C-17 aircraft commander for the mission, echoed Colonel Vu's sentiments. 

"I have traveled around the world and performed many different types of missions. However, when I can have a direct impact on someone's life by flying a medevac flight, I truly find those missions the most rewarding," said Major Zehr. 

Covering approximately 150 million square miles, which equates to approximately 50 percent of the earth's surface and 60 percent of the world's population, keeps the TPMRC busy. Not only does the unit provide urgent and routine aeromedical evacuation of military personnel, humanitarian assistance to third country nationals to save life or limb is also their responsibility. The TPMRC coordinates more than 4,000 patient movements annually. 

There are theater patient movement requirements centers in the Pacific and Europe, a joint patient movement requirements center in Qatar and the global patient movement requirements center at Scott AFB, Ill.