FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Joint Trauma System at the U.S. Army Institute of
Surgical Research on Fort Sam Houston was selected as the winner of the eighth
annual Maj. Jonathan Letterman Award for
Medical Excellence, presented by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in
Bethesda, Md., Oct. 8.
This is the second year in a row the USAISR won the
Letterman award.
The award is named after Maj. Jonathan Letterman, known as
“the father of battlefield medicine” when selected as the medical director of
the Army of the Potomac in 1862. During the battles of South Mountain and
Antietam, Letterman fine-tuned what is now known as the Letterman Plan. This
plan not only saved the lives of countless Civil War soldiers; his plan
continues to save lives on today’s battlefields, Afghanistan and wherever
emergency medical help is needed.
According to the museum website
(http://www.civilwarmed.org/), the annual award recognizes an individual and an
organization for leading innovative efforts in civilian emergency care, combat
casualty care, prosthetic technology, improving outcomes for patients with
catastrophic injuries or leveraging today’s cutting medical technology to
develop new ways to assist military service members or civilians who have
suffered severe disfiguring wounds.
Accepting the award for the JTS was Col. (Dr.) Kirby Gross,
JTS director.
“Although the award was presented in October, the award was earned
since the inception of the JTS and Joint Theater Trauma System,” Gross said.
“The JTTS was first fielded in 2005 with stateside support of the JTS at the
USAISR. The last theater presence of the JTTS personnel concluded in December
2014, but the theater presence continues by application of clinical practice
guidelines and participation in the weekly combat casualty care curriculum
conferences.”
The JTS was established at the USAISR in 2004 when the
assistant secretary of defense for health affairs directed all military
branches to work together to develop a single trauma registry to improve trauma
care delivery and patient outcomes through the continuum of care.
“The JTS staff
received this award due to the positive impact on combat casualty care
outcomes,” Gross said. “The award demonstrates that professional peers and
military medical leaders have identified the impact of the JTS. As one of the
many contributors to the JTS, this award inspires me to ensure the JTS
continues to remain innovative and relevant in combat casualty care.”
Gross added that the JTS by way of the data collected from
the wars in Afghanistan has contributed to unprecedented survival rates, as
high as 98 percent for casualties arriving alive to a combat hospital.
“This award is a direct result of the remarkable staff at
the JTS who make substantial contributions every day to optimizing combat
casualty care,” said Col. (Dr.) Michael D. Wirt, USAISR commander.
“Congratulations to all for improving the quality of care
for our Wounded Warriors from the battlefield definitive care stateside. There
is still much to be done, and I am proud to be with you leading the charge at
providing the best care and equipment for our battlefield wounded and those who
care for them.”