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Army Surgeon General Kiley Briefs TMC Physician/Veterans

 

The U.S. Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, M.D., gave a luncheon briefing in January to a group of Texas Medical Center military veterans who served in conflicts ranging from the Korean War to the current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The audience at Trevisio’s heard Kiley describe some of the most up-to-date medical technologies being employed in the global war against terrorism.

“We invited General Kiley because the Army has trained so many leaders in the Texas Medical Center, and because the Army Medical Department under his leadership has developed and validated a number of advances in trauma care and information technology, and has been proactive in preparing for a possible pandemic of influenza,” said S. Ward Casscells, M.D., vice president for biotechnology and the John Edward Tyson Distinguished Professor in Cardiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and host of the event. “We hoped to learn from his experience and were not disappointed.”

One of the systems Kiley explained is Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care, which provides medical information management for the Army’s tactical medical forces. The system – combining private-sector and government elements – was developed to enable a comprehensive, life-long electronic medical record for all service members, as well as to improve access to medical information in operational settings.

“It is critically important for the Army to utilize technologies used by civilians and acquire the know-how to apply them to the war zone,” Kiley said. “These types of technologies and medical management systems are a cross-pollination of knowledge and technology that benefit medical military personnel and civilians alike.”

Many of the battlefield technologies and methods also apply to peace operations, humanitarian assistance and operations in aid of civil authorities, he said.

A key part of improving medical care for the soldier in the field is the Personal Information Carrier, which is about the size of a dog tag and is designed to hold the medical records of its wearer.

“I was deeply impressed to hear Gen. Kiley describe the enormous efforts that are being made to provide the most sophisticated care and protection for the brave men and women who have volunteered to serve our nation and our people,” said James H. “Red” Duke, professor of surgery and the John B. Holmes Professor of Clinical Sciences at the UT Medical School at Houston. “The medical support that is now being provided is second to none.”

Other guests included: Richard Andrassy, M.D., holder of the Denton A. Cooley, M.D., Chair and chair of the Department of Surgery; Richard Bradley, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine; Denton Cooley, M.D., clinical professor of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, UT, and president of the Texas Heart Institute (THI); O. H. “Bud” Frazier, M.D., professor of surgery, UT, and chief of cardiopulmonary transplantation, THI; Larry Gilstrap, M.D., the Emma Sue Hightower Professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences; Scott Lillibridge, M.D., director of the Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness; and Ken Mattox, M.D., professor of surgery at Baylor College of Surgery and chief of staff at Ben Taub General Hospital.

The UT Health Science Center, which hosted the event, has worked with the Army for years on programs that include Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services (DREAMS), Texas Training Technology Against Trauma and Terrorism (T5) and Texas Science, Humanitarian Intervention, Education and Leadership for Disasters (TexSHIELD), a new disaster preparedness program focusing on avian influenza.