Cooper University Health Care recently entered into an agreement with the United States Army to provide advanced surgical trauma training to the U.S. Army’s elite Forward Resuscitation Surgical Team (FRST). Cooper is the first trauma center in the nation to begin providing this training.
“This is another first for Cooper, and we are honored and proud to train this elite Army medical team,” said George E. Norcross III, Chairman of Cooper’s Board of Trustees. “As a high-volume, academic tertiary care Level I Trauma Center, our experience and reputation uniquely positions us to provide the hands-on training and skills this elite team needs to help them save lives on battlefields around the world.”
The program is the result of a 2017 Congressional mandate aimed at advancing the Military Health System trauma readiness for deployment to combat zones around the globe by partnering with high-volume civilian trauma centers to gain critical teamwork and technical trauma skills. As the flagship site, Cooper will help develop the program that will expand to additional sites throughout the U.S. over the next two years. A second trauma center in Oregon has been selected and will being providing this training.
“The Army Military Civilian Trauma Training Team Program provides opportunities for Army medical personnel to work in trauma centers with more emergency care patients than what we typically see in Army hospitals,” said Brig. Gen. Telita Crosland, commanding general, Regional Health Command-Atlantic. “We view this partnership as a win-win for both Army Medicine and Cooper University Health Care. It brings highly-skilled doctors and nurses together to support patients here in the region. It also allows our military medical professionals to maintain their expertise in support of military medical readiness.”
“In 2018, the US Army Medical Command evaluated 15 Level I Trauma Centers for its initial programs,” said Colonel Jason Seery. “Cooper University Health Care was one of two hospitals selected based on its great trauma program, strong understanding of combat medicine, and executive level leadership support.”
Under the program, a U.S. Army Surgeon, emergency medicine physician, a nurse anesthetist, an intensive care nurse and an emergency nurse are fully embedded members of the Cooper clinical staff for three years to obtain first-hand training at Cooper’s high-volume, high-acuity trauma center. In addition, the program also includes clinical rotations with Cooper’s Trauma ICU, Psychiatry, Emergency Department, Labor & Delivery, Operating Room, Anesthesia, Pediatric Emergency Department, Orthopaedic Trauma, Family Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Cooper’s EMS which serves the city of Camden.
Because of its expertise in trauma, surgery, and critical care, Cooper currently provides a wide range of military, diplomatic, and field affairs training programs. Cooper is the only hospital in the United States that has trained elite medical providers from every U.S. military branch, multiple local, state, and federal government agencies, and international partners. Cooper’s programs include:
Cooper also has wide range of programs geared toward expanding health care access to active military, veterans, family members, and first responders.
Services include: the award-winning HeroCare Connect program, a joint venture between Cooper and Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which provides personal, one-stop resource that links military families, active duty and retired military, and veterans with specialty care services close to home and on a timely basis; and Helping Our Heroes, a program to provide screening and health education to first-responders in conjunction with Camden County Board of Freeholders.
“Cooper is becoming the pre-eminent health system in the region – for training, improving health care access, and caring or military personnel, veterans, and their families,” said Norcross. “We will continually seek new and innovative ways to serve these brave men and women.”
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