Guardsmen bring hospitals to field Published May 26, 2004 By Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell National Guard Bureau KEYSTONE, Colo. (AFPN) -- The Air National Guard’s air surgeon and director of medical services explained what expeditionary medical support systems mean for the Air National Guard during a recent conference here.“They move us from an ambulatory-care mission to a critical-care mission,” Col. Randy Falk said during the Air Guard’s Readiness Frontiers Medical Conference.Air Guard medics can now perform surgery and dental work in the field with modern, mobile medical facilities rather than sending patients to a rear area.That is in keeping with the National Guard’s resolve to quickly bring its best resources to the front lines of the nation’s war against terrorism -- at home or abroad, Colonel Falk said.The facilities are the newest thing in Air Force field hospitals, and the Air Guard has spent the past 16 months organizing 25-bed EMEDS systems in 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency regions in the country and in other high-threat areas, Colonel Falk said.Conference attendees got a close look at an EMEDS unit from the 10th Medical Group at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The group provides the medical support for the academy’s cadets and staff. The EMEDS systems began replacing the more cumbersome air-transportable hospitals in the late 1990s, said Maj. Mike Bailes of the 10th MDG.“Before, we had to take the entire hospital to a theater,” he said. “Now we can take what we need.”The basic package has three shelters that include an emergency room and an operating room. It is staffed by 25 people, including two surgeons, a dentist and three nurses. An EMEDS-plus-25 features nine shelters and has an 86-person staff.“EMEDS-plus-25 is normally the biggest size we deploy,” Major Bailes said. “But you can go up from there. You just need more modules.”The intent is to stabilize patients in the facility before they are transported to military hospitals. Major Bailes said he knows the system works, because 10th MDG people have already used them during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. EMEDS units give the Air Guard the resources to help civilian medics deal with catastrophic disaster or terrorist attacks in this country as well as the ability to treat victims overseas, Colonel Falk said. “We don’t have the critical-care beds and personnel in this country that we used to,” Colonel Falk said. “These EMEDS systems can help provide those services.“Our mission is no different here or in a foreign theater,” he said. “We will become more active in the away game as well as in the home game.” The EMEDS systems, he said, will help make that possible.