The Golden Hour

Developed in 2007, nine officer and enlisted medical personnel with various medical field backgrounds came together to form ERSS Team 15. The team trains daily in an open-spaced storage warehouse with state-of-the-art medical equipment.

While forward deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, ERSS Team 15 provide tailored, mission-specific medical capabilities in support of military operations afloat and ashore.

Cmdr. Adnan Jaigirdar, officer in charge of ERSS Team 15, said they typically work on amphibious transport dock and destroyer platform ships to provide surgery and emergency resuscitation close to combat areas.

"The casualties that we are getting are becoming smaller in nature, and inserting a tactical level surgical team closer to the point of contact brings the level of care up to Echelon-2," Said Jaigirdar.

Echelons are used to describe the levels in a four-tiered medical support organization chart. Amphibious transport dock and destroyer platforms are Echelon-1 with capabilities ranging from providing first aide to life-saving surgeries.

Lt. Cmdr. Shannon Rotruck, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, assigned to ERSS Team 15, said they act as a level two trauma system, because they are able to take their equipment with them. The team's ability to perform a complete surgical set up in 40 minutes or less allows for quick treatment of patients.

"For ships that don't have surgical capabilities, our role is to plus them up and enable level two capabilities," said Rotruck. "We have a very small footprint that can be picked up and moved easily and quickly throughout the area of responsibility."

"Golden Hour is a term we use in the medical profession," said Lt. Cmdr. David Lamborn, emergency medicine physician and senior medical officer for ERSS Team 15. "The sooner a patient can be resuscitated and get into some kind of surgical care, the better outcomes they have in the long run."

To get formalized with each other and their equipment prior to deployment to U.S. 5th Fleet, the team trained together for a month in Norfolk, Virginia on multiple trauma resuscitative scenarios.

"It's been one of the best experiences ever," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Shawn Spare, ERSS 15 independent duty corpsman. "I've gained so much experience as a provider, from running a trauma bay to actually helping out with the surgical capabilities, to going with the patient and transferring that patient with en route care."

"The ultimate goal for the ERSS is to achieve and maintain stabilization and provide en route care for injured and ill service members during movement between echelons in the continuum of essential care," said Lamborn.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet, visit www.cusnc.navy.mil/.