Ohio National Guard News

Operation Scarlet Hurricane:
Ohio National Guard continues hurricane relief efforts by providing field medical care in Puerto Rico

Story by Sgt. Joanna Bradshaw, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

Sgt. Joanna Bradshaw, ONG

Capt. David Kirker, a behavioral health specialist attached to the 285th Medical Country (Area Support), carries water and a case of food to an elderly Puerto Rican citizen's house Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The 285th and other organizations have distributed food and water in addition to providing medical attention on outreach missions in the mountains of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.

Ohio National Guard Soldiers of the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) transport a patient from a field line ambulance to a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Oct. 23, 2017, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The patient came from a basketball arena, converted to Federal Medical Station (FMS), where local residents were offered medical attention for both acute and chronic ailments.

Spc. Victor Guerrero assesses a patient at a temporary medical outreach station set up on a residential street Oct. 21, 2017, in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, as part of recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria. Guerrero is one of very few Spanish speakers in the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) and is indispensable in translating medical terminology for the medics from the Ohio National Guard so that patients can communicate and understand the options for health care.

Ohio National Guard Soldiers of the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) prepare to load a non-ambulatory patient onto a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for transport to the USS Comfort Oct. 23, 2017, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. A U.S. Public Health Services officer passes on patient information and continuing care instructions to the flight medic so that no critical information is lost in transit.

Pfc. Skylar Corum, a health care specialist with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), works in the outpatient procedure section of a repurposed basketball stadium Oct. 20, 2017, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Patients arrived from Ponce and surrounding areas seeking care, prescriptions and medications because two nearby hospitals collapsed due to Hurricane Maria.

Col. Patrick S. Callender, a doctor of internal medicine attached to the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), assesses a patient in the inpatient procedure section of a repurposed basketball stadium Oct. 20, 2017, in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 20 Oct. 2017. Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns was converted into a temporary medical center for civilians following the destruction of Hurricane Maria. Improvisation and creativity were key to successful medical care and operations there.

Behavioral health professionals from the Ohio National Guard and U.S. Public Health Service and students from the Ponce Health Sciences University worked together at a Field Medical Station in Ponce, Puerto Rico in October 2017 following Hurricane Maria.

Behavioral health professionals from the Ohio National Guard and U.S. Public Health Services and students from the Ponce Health Sciences University worked together on an outreach mission Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico.

Spc. Tarrah Berg, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), takes the temperature of a child in Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Field medical environments inspire medics like Berg to be creative in their interactions with children who may not even speak the same language.

Pfc. Victor Guerrero, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), assesses a patient Nov. 1, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Guerrero is the only fluent Spanish-speaker in the 285th and was key to facilitating accurate communication with the citizens of the island who speak Spanish only.

Brian Albrecht (left), a reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer in Ohio, interviews Capt. Richard Binks of the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) Oct. 30, 2017, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The reporter visited the 285th for three days to report on what the unit was doing to support Hurricane Maria recovery efforts.

Spc. Tessa Kolman, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), checks the vital signs of a Puerto Rican citizen Nov. 1, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. A medical team consisting of doctors, nurses, medics and behavioral health specialists traveled into the mountainous region of Puerto Rico to provide medical aid to citizens who were unable to access the necessary care due to road conditions and other travel restrictions following Hurricane Maria.

Sgt. First Class Dustin Hartman, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) and registered nurse, performs a medical assessment on a civilian patient Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Routine medical assessments like these can prevent future health problems in addition to treating current ailments.

Capt. David Kirker, a behavioral health specialist attached to the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), shares his expertise with a Puerto Rican citizen in Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Behavioral health professionals like Kirker are helping victims of hurricane devastation to come to terms with their feelings of loss and tragedy.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Crabtree, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) and a registered emergency room nurse, takes the vital signs of a child at a medical outreach station Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Assessments like these can help provide relief to parents who have a lot to deal with following the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

Capt. Calebb Proehl, a chaplain attached to the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), does a card trick for children Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The children were at an outreach aid station set up by the behavioral health specialists of the 285th.

Sgt. Matthew Isaacs, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support), performs a medical examination on a civilian patient Oct. 30, 2017, in Palmas, Puerto Rico. A team of Ohio Army National Guard medical professionals traveled outside of the city of Ponce to provide medical relief to citizens of Puerto Rico who were unable to travel to meet their medical needs.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Crabtree, a medic with the 285th Medical Company (Area Support) and a registered nurse, performs a medical assessment on an infant less than one month old Oct. 27, 2017, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Health care rofessionals with pediatric experience like Crabtree are an important asset to medical companies like the 285th.

PONCE, Puerto Rico (11/09/17) — Citizen-Soldiers respond when natural disasters, like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, cause enough damage to disrupt the victims’ ways of life so much that they require outside help to recover.

Since Hurricane Harvey first made landfall in late August, more than 300 Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have deployed to support disaster relief missions resulting from the three devastating hurricanes that tore through the Caribbean, Texas and Florida. They have been able to provide security, stability, organization, transportation, network communications, aerial support, engineering and command teams.

One of these ONG units deployed specifically to provide medical care for the victims of Hurricane Maria.

A Federal Medical Station (FMS) can help meet the medical needs of impacted citizens by setting up in places that, prior to the natural disaster, were just regular businesses, buildings, schools or complexes.

One such FMS, at the Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns sports arena in Ponce, Puerto Rico, is where Soldier-medics of the Ohio National Guard’s 285th Medical Company (Area Support) provided medical aid to civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. With more than 100 beds available, the FMS was equipped to accommodate both inpatient and outpatient procedures.

The 285th team worked with the U.S. Public Health Service, a disaster medical assistance team, security forces like the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local police who all had the same goal: to provide safe and effective medical relief and care to patients.

Capt. Tyler Wiltshire, a physician’s assistant with the 285th, described the FMS as a “public service to the community,” where patients whose doctors’ offices are closed can continue to receive the medical attention they need.

The arena was adjusted to provide urgent and long-term medical care in a field-hospital environment. The FMS allows patients access to showers in the locker rooms, where medical personnel built dividers for patient privacy. What was formerly a VIP room for basketball fans was turned into a critical care unit for patients on ventilators and others with acute medical needs.

“I love them all,” said patient Steven Rosario, referring to the Soldiers who took care of him. Rosario’s home was badly damaged during the hurricane and he describes the arena as a “refuge.”

Those admitted to the FMS were typically “not sick enough to stay in the hospital, but are too sick to go home,” said Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Hartman, the acting first sergeant of the 285th ASMC and a registered nurse in his civilian career. He is in charge of the health and welfare of his deployed Soldiers and keeping them informed of the policies and procedures that govern their practices.

Combat medics like those of the 285th ASMC are well trained in trauma response and the minimization of post-traumatic complications. In Puerto Rico, the Soldiers must maximize their critical thinking skills to accomplish duties they aren’t used to performing.

“Although they are working inside their scope as medics, it is something they’re not used to doing daily,” Hartman said. “For example, ambulating patients, getting them dressed and showered, helping them use the restroom, etc. They aren’t used to being used as an appointed care technician.”

Many of these combat medics are in school working toward a future in the medical field or already work as medical professionals. These Soldiers have left their Families, work and school lives to volunteer to help others in Puerto Rico.

Since arriving in October, the 285th team has cared for more than 1,400 patients, providing various services to the residents of Ponce and the surrounding communities, ensuring those who need care, receive it. The team has also provided medical care in Jayuya, about an hour’s drive north of Ponce, in central Puerto Rico, and is now in Manati, near the northern coast of the island.

The selfless humanitarian work of the ONG Soldiers and their willingness to respond to victims of natural disasters in their time of need showcases what the National Guard is all about — Citizen-Soldiers helping fellow citizens.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that everybody that came on this mission volunteered,” Hartman said. “So not only did they volunteer to serve their country when they initially enlisted, but every person here volunteered to go on this mission.”