Newswise — The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM) within the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) will hosts a Grand Rounds presentation titled: Operation Iraqi Freedom: The Humanitarian Operations Center, December 13.
Army LTC James C. Brown, commander 97th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), will describe how the Kuwaiti Humanitarian Operations Center became the center of gravity for humanitarian operations coordination and information exchange. Also, how OIF became a 42 day war that did not generate humanitarian catastrophes as predicted.
Discussion will focus on employed tactics and techniques; precision engagement used to minimize damage to civilian infrastructures; restricted target list; maneuver elements used to avoid major population centers; and pre-positioning of humanitarian stockpiles.
The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, which is directed by Craig Llewellyn, M.D., M.P.H., is a university based program with the mission of advancing the understanding and delivery of disaster medical care and humanitarian assistance worldwide. The uniquely positioned academic center is actively developing relationships between governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies, and private volunteer organizations as a means of improving humanitarian relief efforts. The center will assists in the development of and provide expertise in the following focus areas:
Research - Assistance with planning, development, and execution of multi-specialty research in the areas of disaster preparedness, assessment, surveillance, medical care, and recovery is available.
Training - Training of disaster responders of all professional specialties is available; curricula in the areas of disaster administration, field medical care, operational logistics, assessment, and surveillance can be developed for specific organizations and specialties. Consultation - Telephone and on-site consultation are available for organizations requiring timely expertise in all phases of disaster mitigation. Aid with response planning, vulnerability assessment, needs assessment, medical care, and epidemiological surveillance is available.
On-Site Response - The center trains and maintains a cadre of experienced operational medical responders for on-site assessment, consultation for medical care, and technical assistance for agencies requesting such aid.
Informatics - The center serves as a clearinghouse for pertinent information related to all areas of disaster medicine and humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the Center maintains access to expertise in the field of telemedicine and medical informatics as it relates to the austere environment.
Policy Development - The center will assist in the development of institutional policy with regards to disaster response, medical care, and humanitarian aid.
USU is located on the grounds of Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center and across from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. The university is the nation's federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. Students are active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service, who are being educated to deal with wartime casualties, national disasters, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies. The university conducts sponsored research in the combined sciences, including military-relevant research in parasitology, infectious diseases, treatment of traumatic injury, and other issues related to health, war, and national disaster.
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