FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
San Antonio is well-known throughout Texas for hosting one
of the nation’s largest and best rodeos with the world’s best cowboys and
cowgirls competing for top prizes in bareback, bull riding, barrel racing,
steer wrestling and other traditional rodeo events.
On Oct. 29, San Antonio was once again the host of a rodeo,
but there wasn’t a single bull, horse or a cowboy to be seen.
Instead, the area’s best hospital decontamination teams from
the southwest Texas region competed in a “Decon Rodeo.”
The rodeo, designed to
improve response times and promote team building, was hosted by the Emergency Medical Service/Hospital Disaster
Group Decon-Radiation Safety Officer Committee and the Southwest Texas Regional
Advisory Council for Trauma.
The San Antonio Military Medical Center Decon Team placed
second this year, just a couple of points behind the winning team from the
Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.
A total of eight six-person teams competed in the annual
event where they were judged in five timed events: assembly and disassembly of
a portable decontamination tent; personal protective equipment donning and the
decontamination process of a manikin; a written exam and the use of a radiation
detector to detect radiation on a patient.
“We were well-prepared this year,” said 1st Lt. Eric
Bracamonte, SAMMC decon team officer in charge.
SAMMC’s team competed last year, coming in fourth place out
of four teams. This year, the team was perfect in three events and had the best
time in two. SAMMC decon team leader Sgt. T.J. Chavez, assigned to the U.S.
Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center, credits that to the teams’
determination to goal to win.
“We’ve been training since June,” he said. “But we really
ramped up our training during the last month.”
Chavez added that every team in the competition was a winner
because it’s all about being trained and prepared when called for a real event
requiring the response of the decon team.
“It’s also an excellent opportunity for all of the teams to
get together and learn from each other,” he said.
The SAMMC decon team trains monthly and has 70 Soldiers and
Airmen assigned to the hospital and the USAISR Burn Center trained and ready to
respond when the call comes.
“I am very proud of the team’s performance,” Bracamonte said.
“They did a great job and I’m confident that we will be able to respond quickly
and accurately when needed.”