Public health maintains high standards, healthy force

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brok McCarthy
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  Airmen in the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group constantly monitor the health of all individuals and check to see if illnesses of base personnel are isolated incidents or part of a trend at this air base in Southwest Asia.

"Our main role is the prevention and control of communicable diseases," said Capt. Cesar Romero, the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group public health element chief. 

"We monitor and track all the diseases from the daily patient visits to see if there are any trends or if there's anything we can do to prevent further injuries or illnesses," he said. 

The base populace is currently the healthiest it has been in the past four years, with a disease non-battle injury rate 35 percent lower then the U.S. Air Force Central Command average, said tthe captain who is a native of El Paso, Texas. This rate refers to the number of the population having some sort of illness, such as a cold, infection or sports-related injury.

He also said 99 percent of the base personnel are current on all their immunizations, compared to the 95 percent average found throughout the rest of the area of responsibility and the Air Force as a whole.

Part of the reason the base is doing so well is education is provided and everyone's records are checked soon after they arrive here to ensure vaccine compliance and catch any possible medical problem.

"We basically catch any discrepancies on the spot," said Staff Sgt. Rommel Hernandez, the public health assistant NCO in charge who is deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. "When people walk into the right start briefing, we take their ID cards to check if they need an immunization and give it to them right after the briefing is over."

As part of the continued change from expeditionary to enduring, the office recently acquired and started using a hearing test booth, a first of its kind in the area of responsibility.

Initially, the office is expecting to see more Army and Navy personnel using the booth because the hearing test isn't always a requirement for joint servicemembers to deploy, Captain Romero said. However, as more Airmen are stationed here permanently it will be used for individuals who require it for their annual preventive or physical health assessments. It also will be used to monitor work-place hearing loss in individuals.

"When bioenvironmental engineering verifies that someone might be over exposed to noise, we can monitor to make sure they are protected and are not losing their hearing," he said. "It's a sign the base has taken another step toward being an enduring base."

Whenever someone forward deploys from here, public health is also responsible for making sure they have any health-related items they might need such as anti-malarial medications, and ensures the individual understands how and why to use the item.

In addition to monitoring occupational health issues, public health officials inspect food and eating establishments on base. He said walkthroughs of various facilities here are done on a daily basis, unlike at home station where an inspection may be done only once per month.

These inspections certify more than $16 million worth of food and 17,000 meals served daily are safe for consumption.

"We check to ensure the food storage, preparation and service all meet the FDA food code standards," Captain Romero said. "We check everything including how the food is stored, the temperature the food is kept at, how long it's been out and we make sure the plates and utensils are cleaned and sanitized properly. The main thing is it's an unannounced inspection."

Public health Airmen also monitor the individuals who work there. They also check to make sure workers aren't sick and are maintaining good hygiene by washing their hands, wearing gloves and keeping their hair covered, said Tech. Sgt. Duwayne Foster, the public health NCO in charge who is deployed from Keesler AFB.

One of the problems they run into often is many of the workers who come on base are trained well in food quality, but not as well in sanitation.

"We held a class Monday with the (workers) over in the (base exchange) food court," Sergeant Foster said. "We talked to them about what they are supposed to do and what we are looking for when we go out to do our inspections."

"It's a team effort with the force support squadron," Captain Romero said. "They do all of the work; we are just an extra set of eyes. We basically provide oversight and enforce the rules."

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