Army Guard helicopter unit presented with medical award

Dick Benoit

Thursday, July 15, 2004 | 8:29 a.m.

The Nevada Army National Guard's 126th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), located in Reno, was presented with the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems award for 2004 on Wednesday at the national Physician Computer Connection Symposium in San Diego. The award salutes organizations that improve the practice of medicine by the direct physician use of information technology.

The 126th Medical Company's award was based on its use of hand-held computers while providing emergency medical treatment for injured soldiers and civilians during its deployment in Afghanistan in 2003. During the transportation of patients on the unit's UH-60 helicopters, medics would record patient information on PalmOne hand-held computers in order to improve the transfer of information to medical hospitals upon arrival. This information included vital signs, initial diagnoses and record treatment. Medics in the unit estimated the hand-held computers improved the speed of information transfer by 60 percent.

"The technology made a difference," said Capt. Richard Ferguson, commander of the 126th who facilitated the implementation of the hand-held computers. "It was nice to combine technology with a life-saving mission."

During its deployment to Afghanistan, the 126th Medical Company flew 127 combat missions and transported more than 150 people. On March 29, 2003, the unit was involved in saving the life of a Special Forces soldier who was shot in an exchange with Taliban forces. With the assistance of the hand-held computers, the crew of the unit's "Dustoff 34" helped the soldier survive the 40-minute flight to the hospital

About 15 members of the 126th Medical Company remain on active duty deployments at domestic locations including Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort Hood, Texas.

In brief