SUPPLYING VENTILATORS DURING A CRITICAL TIME
I
n early 2020, we learned that the potentially fatal coro- navirus was quickly spreading from person to person, country to country and continent to continent. We were instructed to wear masks and stay at home for our safety
and to help stop the spread of the virus. As the medical world began to assess the situation and look for answers, patients were quickly filling hospitals and clinics, with no end in sight. Neces- sary medical equipment was becoming scarce, and Army medical professionals immediately stepped up to help find solutions to the problems. Historically, in both war and peacetime, Army Medi- cal Command has helped to provide immediate medical care and resources for both military and civilian patients worldwide.
Called upon to use its expertise and resources to supply ventilators to treat patients afflicted by COVID-19, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) looked to one of its subordinate commands, the U.S. Army Medical Mate- riel Development Activity (USAMMDA), to assist in this effort. USAMMDA asked its Warfighter Deployed Medical Systems Project Management Office (WDMS PMO) team to step in and help because of our expertise in the field regarding the products we manage on a daily basis for the Army.
As the medical equipping office of the Army, our Warfighter Deployed Medical Systems Project team was instrumental in rapidly deploying these much needed ventilators, as well as infu- sion pumps, ultrasonic cleaners, intensive care unit sets, blood-gas analyzers, suction apparatuses, steam sterilizers and other medi- cal supplies with very little lead time.
Aligned under the Army Futures Command, USAMMDA manages both medical product development and the moderniza- tion and sustainment of these critical products. Te organization houses five project management offices, as well as its Force Health Protection Division, all of which support the mission to develop and deliver quality medical capabilities to protect, treat and sustain the health of our service members. Te WDMS PMO is tasked with the procurement, fielding, sustainment and modern- ization of the medical sets and equipment fielded to U.S. Army personnel throughout the world. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WDMS team has risen to the chal- lenge of supporting our nation’s civilian population as well.
A UNIQUE SKILL SET As we now know, COVID-19 typically affects the human respi- ratory system, and may cause hypoxemia, or below-normal levels of oxygen in the blood. Terefore, early in the pandemic, many health care providers recommended the use of medical
34 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2021
SAFETY FIRST
The Hamilton T1 ventilator provides effective, safe and lung- protective ventilation for adult, pediatric and neonatal patients. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton Medical)
ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients in severe respiratory distress. However, since we were experiencing historic numbers of patients requiring ventilators, these units were just not avail- able for everyone at that time.
During the onset of COVID-19, the federal government recog- nized there were not enough ventilators in the U.S. strategic national stockpile to address the rapidly growing requirement. To meet the needs of the civilian medical community, the govern- ment developed a mandate that the Army be prepared to provide ventilators upon order. Te WDMS team’s vast experience in the rapid deployment of medical products and devices, and its exper- tise in ensuring these items meet or exceed the needs of users made it the ideal candidate to help.
In the early stages of the pandemic, Army hospital centers, the 531st Hospital Center from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and the 9th Hospital Center from Fort Hood, Texas, deployed to the Javits Center in New York. Meanwhile, the 627th Hospital Center from Fort Carson, Colorado, deployed to CenturyLink Field in Seattle to aid the local community hospitals in meeting patient capacity. Te Javits Center treated more than 400 patients from the civilian population with various medical needs, including those testing positive for COVID-19. In support of this effort, we
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