Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
MMT 2009 Volume: 13 Issue: 8 (December)
The 86th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility (CASF) at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, was expected to record its 100,000th patient movement sometime by late October, according to an article by Senior Airman Amanda Dick of the 86th Airlift Wing’s public affairs department.
The 100 members of the 86th CASF provide support and medical care to servicemembers injured during overseas contingency operations as they await transit back to the United States. They also transport patients from the Ramstein Air Base flightline to Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility, Germany.
“The mission is basically to provide ground support for patients that are coming into and out of Ramstein AB on their way to definitive care,” Major Mark Knitz, the 86th CASF flight commander, was quoted as saying. “The kind of support we provide is ground transport, en route medical care, and staging and preparation at the CASF.”
The facility operates around the clock and consists of a joint-force staff of active duty, guard and reserve members including one soldier, one Marine and one Canadian military liaison.
The facility began taking patients in 2003 from operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and was set up to provide care for those who couldn’t receive treatment at aeromedical staging facilities (ASFs) and mobile ASFs during those operations.
The 86th CASF averages about 300 patient movements per week, taking patients from downrange almost every day, and ensuring they receive proper medical care.
Army Selects Calbiotech Dengue Research
Spring Valley, Calif.-based Calbiotech received a small-business innovative research “phase I” contract from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material command to develop analyte-specific reagents (ASRs) for the diagnosis of dengue virus, the company said in a press release.
Dengue virus is a mosquito-born flavivirus that represents a major threat to military forces deployed to tropical areas of the world. Due to its worldwide distribution, U.S. military and civilian personnel deployed overseas are at high risk of being infected. The global prevalence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, spreading from nine to some 40 countries. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Not only is the number of cases increasing as the disease spreads to new areas, but explosive outbreaks are occurring. In 2007, Venezuela reported over 80,000 cases.
Technology developed under this research project is intended to enable an affordable, FDA-approved method for diagnosing dengue fever in blood/sera. This will enable medical personnel to adequately diagnose and react to Dengue fever outbreaks.
This Phase I award will allow Calbiotech to compete for $730,000 in “phase II” funding. A phase II project would expand the work to develop ASRs for Rift Valley fever, Sand Fly fever-Toscana, Crimean-Congo fever, Central European Tick-borne encephalitis and Chikungunya viruses in blood/sera from clinically ill patients.
More JSLSCADs for Strykers
General Dynamics received a $16 million order from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., to provide Joint Service Lightweight Standoff Chemical Agent Detector ( JSLSCAD) systems for Stryker Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicles (NBCRVs).
The JSLSCAD provides 360-degree coverage for ground vehicles and has a detection range of up to two kilometers. The technology uses a passive infrared detection system that automatically searches for chemical agent vapor clouds. When a harmful chemical is detected, the system signals a warning allowing personnel to either avoid contaminated areas or don protective gear.
Humana Protests TRICARE Award
The U.S. Government Accountability Office sustained a protest by Humana Military of the Defense Department’s award this summer that granted the South Region TRICARE program contract to a unit of United Health, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reported. Humana claimed that in awarding the contract, DoD appeared not to fully follow the criteria and procedures as described in the requests for proposals that DoD issued. Humana’s current contract expires March 31, 2010. A review by DoD of the protest is currently under way.
Correction
In the article “Less Time to Fill” in the October 2009 issue of MMT, Innovation’s Robotx system was misidentified as RDS Robotx. In addition, ScriptCenter was misidentified and is an Asteres product. Innovation’s secure narcotics cabinet in development is a separate product. We apologize for the errors. ♦