April 1, 2003
CCATTs provide critical care in the air
By Tech. Sgt. Steve Horton
375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AMCNS) - A soldier, critically wounded during battle, is treated at a field hospital. After initial surgery, the soldier is still in critical condition and needs better medical treatment right away.
That's when a Critical Care Air Transport Team is called in to keep the patient stabilized during the flight to a higher-echelon medical facility. The CCATT is a three-person team consisting of a doctor, a critical care nurse, and a cardiopulmonary technician.
The specially trained team provides in-flight critical care from near the point of injury to their destination.
"In the past, we used to transport only stable patients," said Col. Andrew Colon, 375th Medical Group deputy commander. "Now we transport stabilized patients. The difference is, we can transport someone fresh out of surgery and move them out of the battlefield where they received their initial treatment.
"In the past, if you had a gunshot wound and had emergency surgery at a field hospital, you would stay in theater for several days until you were stable enough to be moved. A CCATT can take a freshly-wounded patient and move them to a better echelon of care," he added.
After Desert Storm in the early 1990's, former Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. P.K. Carlton identified a need for this type of asset. The team has evolved through more than 10 years of lessons-learned over to the CCATT of today.
CCATT members receive two weeks of special training at Brooks AFB, Texas, on how to handle moving patients through the air, and are always looking for ways to improve their operation.
"We've been moving critically ill patients throughout the continental United States for several years now," said Colonel Colon. "It gives everyone experience in moving patients in the flying environment, which is different from an intensive care unit, and it gives them a chance to learn lessons and adjust procedures."
The team members are also learning during operational contingencies.
"Our peacetime mission is completely different from operational contingencies," said 1st Lt. Corey Alone, a CCATT member who was recently deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. "We normally have 10 (medical) bags and three litters, but loadmasters won't allow us to bring that much, so we have to modify our equipment to something more reasonable.
"This is the first time CCATTs are being battle-tested in forward deployed areas," he continued. "We will get feedback and continue to learn from each experience."
The CCATT continues to prove its worth every day. "We had some severely injured patients coming out of Afghanistan and the Philippines that would not have survived if we didn't have our CCATT downrange taking care of them," Colonel Colon said.
The CCATT aids the warfighter by quickly evacuating the critically injured to better medical care faster.
"If you have critically ill or injured personnel down range, that means you have to have a bigger medical footprint there," said Colonel Colon. "If you can get those patients out quicker, you can decrease your footprint which helps everyone. It takes a lot of logistics and supplies to maintain combat service support activities.
"This is one of the best things that ever happened to the Air Force medical services," he added. "Each mission that a crew does increases their expertise, confidence, and competence."
"The job is very satisfying," added Lieutenant Alone. "By being thrust into the middle of things, it makes me feel like I'm providing a service to my country by providing medical care from forward deployed areas. We're taking our job from the ICU to the air. I see a good future for CCATT."
As the wars in Iraq and on terrorism continue, the CCATT
will continue to search for ways to move patients more quickly and safely to
better medical care away from the battlefield.
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