At the precise time American healthcare and public health response systems need to be made deeper and more disaster-resilient, large numbers of Veterans with exceptional training in medicine, public health, deployable medical facilities and a host of support functions are looking for jobs and a way to continue serving America.
Recent disasters have clearly shown that as a nation, America needs to develop a more robust healthcare and public health infrastructure in order to support communities during disasters and until they recover. This includes not only material infrastructure support such as mobile hospitals and reserves of medical supplies, but also manpower to supplement local resources in a time of great need.
As in past disasters, it is a certainty that the DOD and State National Guard units will be called upon to render Operational Medical Readiness support to jurisdictions responding to, or recovering from future disasters. Why not employ returning Veterans to bolster America’s Healthcare Disaster Readiness?
Thousands of young American Service men and woman are returning to civilian life from Iraq, Afghanistan and active duty each year, some of them with injuries and medical conditions that will affect them the rest of their lives.
Wounded warriors and other Veterans have exceptional abilities and real-life experience serving America in a wide variety of military occupations. Their spirit, teamwork skills and experience can be immediately transferred to civilian Healthcare Readiness.
The Medical Readiness Reserve Corps has the potential of providing great jobs or supplemental income for our Veterans, while providing them with an opportunity to train the next generation of Medical Readiness professionals.
Mission: The U.S. NORTHCOM’s mission in part states: “U.S. Northern Command Standing Joint Force Headquarters’ mission is to provide Commander, USNORTHCOM with the scalable capability to form the core of a Joint Task Force or to augment multiple organizations in order to anticipate and conduct Homeland Defense and Civil Support missions anywhere in the USNORTHCOM Area of Responsibility during planned or crisis operations.”
Opportunity. The time may be right for the U.S. NORTHCOM and the National Guard Bureau to consider forming a Medical Readiness Reserve Corps to bolster America’s healthcare and public health capabilities during disasters and until jurisdictions can recover.
Men and women returning to civilian life from active duty service can contribute mightily to the U. S. NORTHCOM Civil Support mission. Veterans bring with them a sense of mission, service to others and a strong dedication to America. They have trained specifically to work together as a unit under stressful circumstances, in medical skills meant to save lives. Many are trained in specific skills and occupations which can supplement local health care systems with needed staffing. Often, today’s Veterans return to civilian life without the support and camaraderie of fellow Service Members and face a 9% unemployment rate. They may feel the skills they learned and the values they embraced in the Armed Forces are not in demand in the Private Sector.
Wounded Warriors have already proven their willingness to place others over self in combat situations. Wounded Warriors are exceptionally “able” and bring with them, skills and values unmatched in any other segment of American life. These men and woman can become the cornerstone of American Healthcare Disaster Readiness. The reality is more than ever before, America needs the skills of returning Service men and women in supporting local Healthcare and Public Health providers during and after future natural disasters, industrial accidents and terrorist attacks.
Returning Veterans need jobs, not unemployment benefits in order to re-integrate into American life. They don’t need handouts; they need jobs for which many are already highly qualified. A medical reserve corps could operate similarly to other reserve components with regular paid training activities and activation when needed, as a supplemental force to bolster local resources.
Readiness isn’t cheap, but it is always cost effective: Even from a cost-benefit perspective, the DOD Medical Readiness Reserve Corps will save America billions of dollars during future disasters by deploying mobile healthcare and public health infrastructure to the jurisdictions affected by a disaster. Instead of flying victims around the Country for care and returning them after care is rendered, victims can receive care in or near their home town. This approach will also keep medical professionals in the affected jurisdiction instead of seeking employment elsewhere. It will also bolster healthcare organizations in the very communities that will need them during recovery. Considering what we have seen of years of lost economic activity in communities decimated by past disasters, this alternative makes perfect financial sense.
Components: The DOD Medical Readiness Reserve Corps can consist of two elements and be integrated into all Armed Forces Reserve and National Guard components in a manner that guarantees standardized training and operational excellence. At the same time, the Medical Ready Reserve Corps elements can satisfy laws and regulations applying to activation and utilization of Armed Forces resources during disasters and Events of National Significance. There should be two fully integrated components to the DOD Medical Readiness Reserve Corps.
A. Armed Forces Medical Readiness Reserve Corps while constrained by the Posse Comitatus Act may provide Armed Forces organic support to DOD and to jurisdictions requesting DOD medical augmentation support during catastrophic events. It will train with and seamlessly integrate with the State National Guard Medical Readiness Reserve Corps during catastrophic events when deploying DOD elements is justified. The DOD Reserves will also enhance the overall DOD Medical Readiness posture for future conflicts.
B. State National Guard Medical Readiness Reserve Corps Units may be appropriate for smaller scale disasters, when Governors need medical assets, but do not rise to the level requiring DOD participation. It will also provide the “Private Sector” linkages to train and integrate the HHS Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) into a fully ready and paid cadre of professionals under the control of State governors. Many medical professionals are reluctant to join any National Medical System, as originally proposed by HHS, because the medical professionals fear being “federalized” during disasters. By placing the Medical Ready Reserve Corps under State control, this concern may be overcome. This method will also allow for paid training sessions where competencies can be maintained and upgraded and teams can be built and strengthened.
1. Medical Professional Element. Just some of the specialties which would be included are:
• Surgeons, physicians and nurses of all specialties, dentists, veterinarians, podiatrists, public health professionals
• Optometrists/optometric fabrication specialists.
• Pharmacists
• Psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health counselors
• Physical, Respiratory and Occupational Therapy
• Independent Practice Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants
• Combat Medics, Medical Corpsmen and Independent Duty Medical Technicians
• Environmental engineers and entomologists
• All medical administration specialties
2. Medical Logistical Support and Training Element.
A. US Army Civil Support Medical Readiness Center USA-CSMRC, modeled on the US Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMCE), but may also consist of manufacturing facilities to build mobile hospitals and support equipment, which USAMMCE didn’t have.
• Mission: Wounded Warriors and other Veterans would manufacture, refurbish, recover, reconstitute and maintain mobile hospitals, specialty care modular units (trauma, burn, radiation, special needs products and public health units) for repeated use in future disasters.
• Wounded Warriors would be employed to operate the everyday materiel management support functions, such as inventory management, biomedical equipment repair and certification, finance, procurement, quality control and other functions of the USA-CSMRC. Wounded Warriors can serve as permanent employees, deployment team members or both. Hiring priority will be given to Wounded Warriors and returning service members.
• The USA-CSMRC will provide permanent employment and training opportunities for Wounded Warriors and other Veterans, wanting to use the skills they used on active duty to serve America’s Healthcare Readiness needs.
• Some of the functions of the USA-CSMRC would be:
• Manufacture, store, maintain, deploy and recover deployable medical facilities
• Maintain all biomedical equipment and testing and calibrating medical equipment
• Manage potency and dated (P&D) items and controlled medical items
• Provide management of medical materiel, spare parts and major and minor mission support equipment and associated items of equipment (ASIOE)
• Maintain the Center’s mobility team personnel records, physical exams and up to date immunizations
• Establish teams identified for rapid deployment with mobile units
• Provide constant physical conditioning of deployment team members
• Rapidly deploy mobility assets for use in large scale exercises or actual disaster locations
• Support USAID and State Department International relief missions
B. US Army Civil Support Medical Readiness Reserves Corps Training Center will provide hands-on medical training in mobile medical units to:
• DOD Reserve and National Guard “Medical Ready Reserve Corps” teams
• HHS Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
• DHS/FEMA and HHS personnel
• Public Health Service (PHS) Commission Corps
• National Disaster Medical System teams
Results:
1. The DOD will possess a robust Medical Readiness Reserve Corps which will meet NORTHCOM’s mission tasking objectives for Civil Support and maintain a high level of Medical Readiness.
2. State National Guard Medical Readiness Reserve Corps Units will provide a highly trained, rapid medical deployment capability to Governors.
3. HHS Medical Reserve Corps volunteers will be paid for competency training and during deployment, by the State National Guard without the concern of being federalized.
4. The US Army Civil Support Medical Readiness Center USA-CSMRC will provide mobile medical facilities and all associated support equipment which can bolster healthcare and public health facilities during disasters
5. The US Army Civil Support Medical Readiness Reserves Corps Training Center will provide hands on training to all medical reserve units in the actual mobile facilities that these professionals will use in future disasters.
6. This initiative will reaffirm the US DOD’s contribution to Homeland Security in the preservation of both healthcare and public health Critical Infrastructure.
7. Wounded Warriors and other Veterans willing to continue serving America will have well paying jobs and will reestablish a “Team” environment to grow, learn and mentor others.
