Aug. 25, 2011 -- FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Military and civilian medical staff at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital are participating in the last official transition training before moving medical services and treating patients at the new facility on Aug. 31.
More than 750 staff members are attending unit specific orientation today, completing roughly 5,300 man hours of training, and the resounding message of participants is a simple, "One Team."
The new Belvoir hospital incorporates active-duty staff from the Army, Navy and Air Force, while civilian employees are designated as DoD employees, enforcing the joint service mentality of "one team."
More than 20 equipment specific training courses are the focus of today's activities aimed at familiarizing staff with how to use the new equipment and the importance of practicing the safe delivery of health care, according to Lt. Col. Kevin Moore, deputy commander for Education, Research and Training.
"For all of our staff involved in patient care, there is a continuous process of training, updating, testing and validation," Moore said. Because the new facility is not currently servicing patients, it is a unique and opportune time to optimize staff training.
Several staff from Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Department of Pediatrics who recently transitioned to Belvoir hospital registered for various training classes.
"We have the same level of confidence in our department as we did at Walter Reed," said Natalie Bethel, a certified nursing assistant in the pediatric clinic located on the first floor of the Rivers Pavilion, "but we should always be learning; and through these training classes, it gives us an even greater level of confidence."
According to Levelle Tedder, a licensed practical nurse in the pediatric clinic, training opportunities like this allow the staff to not only orient themselves to their new spaces and new team members, but also to new equipment.
"Crash carts are seemingly universal, but the ones at Walter Reed were older models. The ones we have here are state-of-the-art, and practicing on them is needed so that on day one we can be ready for anything," Tedder said.
The pediatric group agrees that even before patients arrive, they are identifying possible best practices and making improvements with the support and acceptance of their department leadership.
Many staff members previously participated in three "Day in the Life" training events that included hundreds of staff members and community volunteers, giving the departments and personnel an opportunity to validate personnel training, procedures and equipment before patients arrive Aug. 31.
"You want to make sure that each and every one of your staff members are trained to standard.... you don't want the knowledge and skill sets to be in the hands of a few," Moore said, "especially as new equipment and medical practices are implemented."
Following the completion of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law, more than 3,000 military, civilian and contract staff will work at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
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