Health

CCATT supports critical care patients

Story and photos by Airman 1st Class John R. Wright
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
April 30, 2020
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Kile, 86th Medical Squadron Critical Care Air Transport Team noncommissioned officer in charge, checks a ventilator in the CCATT Shack at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, April 2. Medical equipment is checked periodically and before patient transportations to ensure proper function.

The 86th Medical Squadron Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT), a Landstuhl Regional Medical Center capability, employs innovative equipment and specialized training to support critically injured or ill patients.

Directly adjacent to the LRMC Emergency Room in a small modular building, dubbed the “CCATT Shack,” are carefully organized and routinely checked patient care kits and medical supplies staged and ready for rapid response by the CCATT.

A display of expired medications hang in the Critical Care Air Transport Team Shack at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, April 2. Expired medications and other medical supplies are often used for training and informative display prior to being discarded.

The CCATT is a specialized team made up of medical professionals such as Critical Care Physicians and Critical Care Nurses and Respiratory Therapists who are well equipped and capable of treating the most afflicted individuals.

“They are constantly training,” said Col. Sean Jersey, 86th MDS commander. “They go through their gear-set and equipment, making sure that they’re both familiar with how to use it and they’ve got enough of it. They also make sure that the medication in there is not expired.”

Personal protective equipment used by the 86th Medical Squadron Critical Care Air Transport Team is stored in the CCATT Shack at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, April 2. Medical members wear PPE during patient transportation to protect themselves and patients from infection.

At least once a quarter, the CCATT participates in joint exercises with the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, LRMC personnel, En-Route Patient Staging System personnel, and sometimes also with the front-end air crew, Jersey said.

 

“We also send them back to specialized training courses in the states,” Jersey added. “They’ve got to stay on top of their game because they’re taking care of the most critically ill and injured patients that we have.”

With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, CCATT personnel are ready to support any patients requiring critical care.

“We don’t know what the next virus or illness is going to be,” Jersey said. “COVID-19 is the latest, but these medical personnel are at the top of their profession. They have to train hard all the time to stay that way, so when things like this come up, they’re probably postured and more ready than anybody else in the world to deal with it.”

The top of a ventilator used by the 86th Medical Squadron Critical Care Air Transport Team is shown in the CCATT Shack at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, April 2. The four connection points with color coding makes for a simple set-up.

Capable of operating under many conditions – ground transportation, in-flight aboard a C-130J Super Hercules or various other aircraft, patient transfers in harsh environments – the CCATT is able to focus their efforts on the most at-risk patients, regardless of the circumstances.

“It’s all part of a worldwide system the Air Force has to help us deliver medical care everywhere,” Jersey said.

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