Army Reserve medical unit helps Winn weather Debby, continue patient care

Story by Gustave Rehnstrom

Winn Army Community Hospital

Soldiers from the Army Reserve joined forces with their active-duty counterparts and civilian staff at Winn Army Community Hospital to maintain seamless operations in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby.

Reservists from the 7459th Medical Operations Readiness Unit are currently undergoing training at Winn Army Community Hospital. The MORU provided continuity of patient care following the tropical storm.

Winn ACH commander and director Col. Margaret Berryman said she was impressed with the ability of the MORU to step up immediately during and after the storm to help cover areas with personnel out due to weather conditions.

“Our priority is to ensure that our patients continue to receive the highest level of care, despite the challenges presented by Tropical Storm Debby,” Berryman said. “The collaborative efforts of our Army Reserve Soldiers and our dedicated staff are crucial in achieving our mission.”

The storm, which struck the southeastern United States earlier this week, caused disruptions across the region, necessitating a coordination to maintain essential services at the hospital. Having the MORU on-hand was a fortunate circumstance aligning annual training needs with a real-world severe weather event.

“They were able to fill the gaps in our personnel and maintain critical services during limited manning due to Tropical Storm Debby,” said Lt. Col. Edward Chang, deputy commander of clinical services at Winn ACH.

The real-world application of the unit’s abilities at Winn—both during routine and emergent operations—is vital to ensuring the Soldiers are trained to a standard that ensures mission success and deployment readiness no matter where they are deployed, said Lt. Col. Callief Shand, commander of the 7235th Medical Support Unit, 7459th MORU. Training at a military treatment facility prepares the unit for combat operations.

“Debby gave us a real-time, real experience of how we could provide support to Winn Army Community Hospital,” Shand said. “Providers…were able to step in and fill the gaps in the hospital. They were there and they were ready to support in any area needed. I was very proud of them as their commander to see them step up.”

As recovery efforts continue following the storm, the combined efforts of the MORU and the team at Winn ACH highlight the strength of collaboration and the commitment to patient care. Chang said the MORU integrated seamlessly with the hospital staff to achieve the mission.

“Their expertise and willingness to step up during this recovery phase was greatly appreciated and minimized the impacts to patient care,” he said.

Winn ACH Emergency Management Specialist Brian Kolodziej said the Winn ACH team performed in concert during the tropical storm, both in communicating and incorporating the MORU into the operations.

“Once we knew the storm was going to impact our ability to provide out-patient care for several days, we activated our emergency operations cell to level the bubbles and share information across all lanes,” Kolodziej said. “Our collaboration discovered shortfalls caused by the storm, and we used them as an opportunity to leverage the Reserve units and apply them in an emergent operation.”

Winn Army Community Hospital is fully operational following the storm, providing critical medical services to our Soldiers, our Retirees, their Families, and the surrounding community because of the skillset of the MORU and the organic hospital staff, Berryman said.

“We are ready to continue our critical mission of providing health care to the 3rd Infantry Division to ensure its mission readiness, and to care for their Families as well,” she said. “We are a ‘Winn-ing’ team here, and we are glad to include the 481st Surgical Detachment and the 349th Medical Augmentation Detachment in our line-up.”