News

Health professionals outstanding

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Reed Robertson
  • 446th Airlift Wing
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The Air Force Reserve Command recently announced the recipients of the 2006 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. This annual award is reserved for the units with exceptionally meritorious service. Among the winners of this prestigious award was one squadron each member of our wing knows very well.
The 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron earned this award while supporting the deployment and re-deployment of our Airmen during 2006. To most, the unit is known for conducting Reservists' annual medical and dental exams. However, it is also charged with ensuring each member of the 446th Airlift Wing is medically prepared to be activated. Once deployed Airmen return, the 446th AMDS professionals take all of the necessary steps to release the returning members off of active duty in as healthy a condition as when they left.
"Watching after the healthcare needs of a wing as large and as busy as ours is, has placed some very unique demands on our systems and our members," said Col. (Dr.) John Lenihan, commander of the 446th AMDS. "We realized that our medical readiness programs didn't adequately communicate with the active duty systems that our mobilized Airmen were utilizing, and that we needed to do something about it."
With the recent success of the AMDS in adopting the Reserve Component Periodic Health Assessments on-line tool, the unit was asked to test out some pilot programs that enable the smooth flow of medical and dental information between the two components.
Colonel Lenihan continued, "We decided to take the bull by the horns and spearhead many initiatives that have become best practices and will most likely be adopted Air Force wide."
The unit has implemented and mastered the new automated Physical Exams Processing Program used processing the long and short physicals. After being one of the first units in AFRC to successfully implement the new annual physical exam process, the 446th AMDS was asked to pilot the new Personal Individual Medical Readiness program for the Reserve. This program was already being used by active duty. This program allows a seamless visibility of each member's medical readiness status, whether mobilized and activated or participating on UTAs as a traditional reservist. It also incorporates flyers' grounding management and occupational medicine preventative programs for the wing. The 446th AMDS now consults on training for this program for other medical units throughout the command.
"The commitment of all of our members to provide the very best pre and post deployment medical care in the easiest and safest way possible is what makes us one of the Air Force's outstanding units," Colonel Lenihan said.