EACH plays key role in NATO Medical Evaluation Course

Story by Gino Mattorano

Evans Army Community Hospital

Evans Army Community Hospital (EACH) helped certify new NATO medical evaluators as part of a NATO Medical Evaluation Course hosted by the 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade Sept. 16-27.

This was the first time the Medical Evaluation course, which is conducted by the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine, has been conducted on U.S. soil.

The MEDEVAL Course certifies Joint and International medical personnel to evaluate operational medical units under NATO standards. Participants are trained and certified to become NATO evaluators, ensuring consistency and credibility in medical operations across NATO’s multinational forces.
The culminating event for the two-week course was a simulation exercise where students put their newly learned evaluation skills to the test at EACH, by conducting a mock evaluation of three areas – the Emergency Department, Radiology and the Family Care Ward.

Under the watchful eye of course instructors, four teams of students practiced their evaluation skills by asking questions about services and capabilities of the departments, and developed an evaluation report that was later presented to hospital leadership.

As a fixed healthcare facility, EACH isn’t required to meet NATO standards, however, staff welcomed the opportunity to talk about their department’s capabilities and discuss processes.

“I found it extremely beneficial to answer their questions and hear an outside perspective on how we do business,” said Capt. Ashley Ross, the Clinical Nurse Officer in Charge of the Department of Emergency Medicine. “Plus, we are very proud of the work we do here, and it gave us the opportunity to showcase our people and capabilities.”

Once each of the student teams finished their mock evaluations, they prepared final evaluation reports which they presented to hospital leadership.

The hospital command team thanked the students and faculty for the opportunity to participate in the training scenarios and offered kudos to the students for their professionalism and thoroughness.

“It’s incredibly important that our medical forces can communicate both on the battlefield and in the hospital setting,” said Col. Allan Boudreaux, the EACH Deputy Commander for Nursing. “Interoperability is a vital part of our ability provide care and treatment for our servicemember and allies during contingency operations. These training opportunities help to ensure we are ready to perform our wartime mission if called upon.”

Course instructors then provided feedback to the students on their performance and awarded them their course certificates.

Follow the link below for more details about the course and the 4th SFAB: https://www.army.mil/article/280175.