Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search
File: 110196_aacbg_06.txtTYPE OF MEDICAL FACILITY # HOSPITAL BEDS Contingency Hospitals: 870th USAF CH, RAF Little Rissington UK 1500 310th USAF CH, RAF Nocton Hall UK 750 317th USAF CH. RAF Bicester UK 500 609th USAF CH. Zweibrucken GE 500 Total 3,250 Peacetime Hospital Expansion: 7100 CSW Medical Center, Wiesbaden GE 286 401 TFW Hospital, Torrejon AB SP 124 48 TFW Hospital, RAF Lakenheath UK 155 20 TFW Hospital, RAF Upper Heyford UK 97 Total 662* GRAND TOTAL 3,912* * 172 beds were available for peacetime patient care STAFFING & PEACETIME MISSION With arrival of CONUS staffing, contingency hospitals had hundreds of doctors, nurses, dentists, biomedical science specialists, and administrators There were medical technicians in every specialty from direct patient care to lab, pharmacy, x-ray, medical records, food service and logistics. Even with abundant staffing, however, the dependent-care mission initially suffered due to heavy base level taskings and the divergent locations of patients and contingency hospital staffs. Unlike a European war scenario, dependents were present during DS/PF. To complicate matters, Army facilities which expanded to care for Gulf casualties terminated routine dependent care. The USAFE goal was to maintain peacetime health care levels while serving more Army dependents. Had the war started before AF contingency hospital staffs arrived from CONUS, USAFE's peacetime medical facilities would have ceased dependent care and expanded to their maximum bed capability. Regarding the movement of CONUS medical forces to Europe, the Command Surgeon's guidance was to flow contingency hospital staffs not a day too early, and not a day too late. Complicating this guidance was the uncertainty of timing for the D-Day execution order and inadequate transportation priorities for moving over 6,000 medical personnel to USAFE. Medical movement priority would have initially delayed full staffing of USAFE contingency hospitals until 21 days into the war. The ground war was projected to fill USAFE's peacetime medical facilities in a matter of days. This was a serious disconnect which 6
Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search