MWCC News & Events: What's Up at the Mount

MWCC's weekly e-newsletter

 

Friday, November 10, 2006

 

NAVY SURGEON SHARES EXPERIENCES TREATING SOLDIERS IN IRAQ

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Surgeons at the field hospital of Camp Ramadi in Iraq work fast to save the lives of wounded soldiers. Among their other duties, nurses make sure soldiers’ needs are met during the helicopter ride to the next hospital.

Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Trainor, M.D.

One of those surgeons, orthopaedic surgeon Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Trainor, gave a presentation to about 200 college Nursing students, faculty, staff and community residents in the MWCC auditorium Monday, Nov. 6.

Trainor attempted to put today’s efforts to save soldiers’ lives in context by first outlining how far frontline medical treatment has come since wars like World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. Additional strides have been made, he said, since US soldiers invaded Iraq in 2003.

One major step forward—made during the 20th century—was the use of mobile blood banks. An announcement is made in mess halls and other areas of camp that blood is needed in the camp hospital. Soldiers respond by giving blood.

“These were essential to my work in Ramadi,” Trainor said.

An example of a new treatment, he said, is the use of better external fixators, which salvage injured limbs. These fixators reduce patients’ pain, help stop bleeding, reduce the risk of infection and prevent further injuries. This advancement has been crucial during Operation Iraqi Freedom because 60 to 70 percent of injuries are extremity injuries, Trainor explained.

A technique developed in the last 1½ years is something called a “hot pocket,” he said. Shock causes injured soldiers’ body temperature to plummet. Level 2 hospital surgeons operate on patients in un-air-conditioned facilities to help keep their bodies warm. But doctors and nurses found that during helicopter rides to the next hospital, soldiers got cold. So they decided to insulate plastic body bags with blankets and put injured soldiers inside.

“The nurses were vitally important to getting patients to the next level,” Trainor said, showing a picture of a nurse dressed in protective military gear.

Most soldiers are injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which cause the numerous extremity injuries, he said. Others suffer head injuries from sniper attacks, and unfortunately, many of them don’t survive. Soldiers were brought to the Ramadi Camp hospital within 15 minutes of being injured, he explained.

“Our Level 2 (hospital) was by far the busiest (in Iraq),” Trainor said. “It was pretty hot” in the Al Anbar Province.

While the hospital team treated Army soldiers, Marines and Navy personnel, 50 to 60 percent of their patients were Iraqi Army soldiers and policemen, he said. Other patients were members of the media, U.S. contractors, Iraqi civilians and Iraqi insurgents.

Often U.S. soldiers would shoot an insurgent to stop him from planting an IED, Trainor explained. They would then pick him up and drive him to the Ramadi Camp hospital. Trainor and his colleagues would begin treating the insurgent. Oftentimes, they would make a call for blood donations because the insurgent needed a blood transfusion, he added.

In the nearly seven months Trainor served at the Ramadi Camp hospital, he performed 160 surgeries. His presentation included pictures of his patients, his colleagues, soldiers, Iraqis, camps, hospitals and examples of treatment options.

Trainor is the son of interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Pete Trainor. He is the attending orthopaedic surgeon and a member of the teaching staff at Naval Health Clinic Hawaii – SMART Center & Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.

GREG CLEMENT NAMED PROGRAMMER OF THE YEAR

The student leadership training, educational exhibits and civic engagement programming coordinated by MWCC’s Student Life Office caught the eye of the National Association of College Activities. For this, Director of Student Life Greg Clement was named Programmer of the Year at the National Association of College Activities’ Northeast regional conference in Marlborough Saturday, Nov. 4.

Director of Student Life Greg Clement

"This award could go to no one more worthy, and we are truly fortunate to count Greg as a member of the MWCC community," said Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management Ann McDonald.

This honor is particularly impressive, she said, because Clement was nominated along with activities directors representing two- and four-year colleges such as Northeastern University and Boston University, just to name a few.

“In our leadership training, we combine the academic side with the co-curricular side, and they found this interesting,” Clement said. “In addition, very few people in my field do the kinds of educational exhibits we do or the civic engagement components we do.”

Also at the conference, MWCC Computer Graphic Design student Sonya Shelton won the Best Student Designed Poster award for the Scary Karaoke and Ray Hendricks posters she created.

More MWCC News:

• Ten semi-finalists in MWCC’s second annual Business Plan Competition will compete for finalist and grand prize awards when they present their business plans to a panel of judges on Monday, Nov. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Gardner campus. The finalist/category winners chosen that night will compete for the grand prize before a panel of judges Thursday, Nov. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Gardner campus. Both events are open to the public. For more information, contact Lisa Derby Oden, director of the Entrepreneurial Resource Center, at loden@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 840-3221 ext. 206.
• MWCC will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the commons area of the college’s Gardner campus. To register, contact Marianne Stoy at (978) 630-9136. Walk-ins are welcome.
• MWCC has launched the new Clinical Laboratory Science program. Students enrolled in this program will learn how to use sophisticated biomedical instrumentation and computers to analyze blood and other body specimens. Information sessions will take place Wednesdays Nov. 15 and Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. in the OBS Conference Room on the second floor of Heywood Hospital. Prospective students interested in attending the information session are asked to call the Admissions Office at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu. Information about the new CLS program also is posted on the college Blackboard website called CLS Information Center. To access more information, go to https://bb.mwcc.edu and then enter “cls” as both the username and password.

• Clark University's Jack Foley

  The What’s Next Speaker Series will continue Friday, Nov. 17 with Jack Foley, founder of the Clark University Park Partnership in Worcester, giving the presentation “A Model to Address Poverty Among Disadvantaged Children.” The lecture will take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster. A complimentary lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required. Submit registrations to whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9324. The event is sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Humanity, the Twin Cities Latino Coalition and the Trustees of Reservations.
• MWCC’s Transfer Services office is hosting the annual Transfer Fair on Monday, Nov. 20 in the Gardner campus’ South Cafeteria from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Over 50 four-year college transfer representatives plan to attend. This is an opportunity for students to meet with four-year college and university representatives and talk to them about issues pertaining to transfer. For a full list of the colleges that will be at the fair, visit http://transfer.mwcc.edu. For more information, contact Nancy Greenlaw at (978) 630-9321 or ngreenlaw@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Theatre at the Mount is accepting nominations for the inaugural High School Musical Theatre Awards, the TAMYs. These awards recognize the exceptional accomplishments in the production and performance of musical theatre in area high schools. Area high schools are invited to participate in the competition by entering their annual musical production for consideration in a variety of categories, including: best overall production, best actor, best actress, best choreography, etc. Members of the Theatre at the Mount staff will attend and evaluate each production, making nominations in each category. Winners will be honored at a “red-carpet” awards ceremony and dinner modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards. Local schools interested in participating in the TAMY Award program should contact Professor Gail Steele at (978) 630-9162 or gsteele@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Dr. Peter Senge

  The Twin Cities Latino Coalition and the Trustees of Reservations will host a conversation with Dr. Peter Senge, author of “The Fifth Discipline” and world-renowned guru of the field of organizational change and leadership development, on Monday, Nov. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Doyle Conservation Center, 464 Abbott Ave., Leominster. Senge will moderate the panel discussion entitled “Meeting the Changing Face of Our Future: Facing the Challenges of Changing Today in Response to the Emerging Future.” Pre-registration is requested. Register with Sayra Pinto, associate vice president of inclusion, by calling (978) 840-3221 ext. 207 or emailing spinto@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Gateway to College, one of MWCC’s College Access and Preparation Programs, offers high-school dropouts and students on the verge of dropping out of high school an opportunity to earn a diploma in a college-like setting and earn college credits. Massachusetts residents who meet the program’s eligibility requirements may apply. An information session for the session that begins in January 2007 will be held Monday, Dec. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Gardner campus. To register for an information session or to request materials, call (978) 630-9481 or (978) 630-9450, or visit http://www.mwcc.edu/services/CAPP/default.html.
• The First Connections Mothers Group’s weekly meetings are held every Friday. At the gatherings, which take place in the Children’s Room at Levi Heywood Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon, attendees discuss topics such as feeding, sibling rivalry, temper tantrums, appropriate toys, traveling with children and how to choose a daycare provider. All mothers and their babies are invited. For more information, contact Professor Nancy Duphily, the meeting facilitator, at duphi@yahoo.com or (978) 630-9233. Duphily will be assisted by MWCC nursing students as part of their service-learning project.