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375th AES teams fly patients to U.S. for medical care

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andrew Davis
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Ten members of the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron returned Jan. 30 from supporting earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

The Airmen, split into two teams, were based out of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., and flew missions into the Port-Au-Prince International Airport. The crews were commanded by Maj. Melissa Stickler and Capt. Michael Thomann.

"We were put on alert status when we got to MacDill, which meant we would be ready to leave within an hour. We then proceeded to fly two missions into Haiti," said Captain Thomann. "The first mission we flew was to pick up and provide aid to eight American patients who were being evacuated from the country."

On the second mission, they picked up 17 Haitians who were being transported to the United States for medical care.

"Our job is to make the patients as comfortable as possible, providing pain control and making sure they are stable on the flight," said Captain Thomann. "The majority of the patients we had suffered fractures, crush injuries and burns."

Staff Sgt. Vivianne Jean-Pierre, a medical technician who is fluent in French Creole, was on hand to assist patients and their families.

"We were very fortunate to have her on our team. Through her translation skills, she diverted many situations that could have been potentially more dangerous," said the Captain.

Sergeant Jean-Pierre's ability to translate and communicate to patients was important to the mission.

"In one of the situations, a patient needed pain medication but the crew wasn't able to communicate effectively. Sergeant Jean-Pierre communicated this crucial piece of information so the crew could administer pain medication for this patient," said Captain Thomann. "In another situation that arose, Sergeant Jean-Pierre communicated the pain level of a 6-year old patient with crushing injuries to the flight nurse, as well as informed the patient's mother of the situation and eased her worries."

The teams -- which provided in-transit care on Air Force aircraft -- consisted of medical crew directors, flight nurses and medical technicians.

The other members of the medical crew consisted of Capts. Christopher Dremann and Debra Sims; Tech. Sgts. Matthew Scott and Dale Clay; and Staff Sgts. Tiffany Taylor, Michael O'Connor and Eric Hammerstrom.