MHS a 21st Century Military Medical System

By David Loebsack
Health.mil

February 1, 2010 - Marine Sgt. Mike “Bulldog” Blair told his story of devastating injury and amazing recovery to a crowd of more than 3,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen at the 2010 MHS Conference Jan. 28.

“Once my recovery got a little further on, it would take me a half hour to list every person that has been really integral to my recovery, both physical and mental,” said Blair.

Blair was driving a Humvee on mission in Iraq when his vehicle detonated a pressure-plated mine, knocking him unconscious and all but obliterating his legs. Doctors performed roughly 60 surgeries so that Blair could walk on his own legs once again, albeit with a cane.

“I will never forget the friends, the mentors [and] the brothers that I have made being a part of this secret club,” said Blair.

The club he referred to was the community of support that rose up around him in the MHS, private and public sector organizations to facilitate his recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into the Marine Corps.

Vice Adm. John Mateczun, commander of the Joint Task Force, National Capital Region, Medical followed Blair, emphasizing the amazing ways the MHS has grown over the years. He cited Blair’s amazing rehabilitation as proof that the MHS is truly a 21st century health care system.

Looking toward the future, Mateczun said the MHS needs to be an organization marked by disruptive innovation, a term introduced earlier in the week that refers to a mentality of seeking change in spite of the status quo.

He challenged everyone in the audience to constantly seek ways to make military health care better.

“It’s not the people in the front row that are disruptive innovators. It’s you all in the back rows that are going to be in the right place, to go out and be able to put together the pieces. That’s disruptive innovation,” Mateczun said.

Surgeon General of the Army Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker closed the session by revealing how the MHS is disruptively innovating today. By creating knowledge-building entities within the MHS, DoD leaders have crafted what Schoomaker calls a “learning system” – a system that, thanks to innovation and technology, can aggregate data and provide invaluable knowledge to decision makers.

“I want to leave no question to all of those who are in the audience who don’t understand our collective commitment to working as a team…to serve this nation, to protect and care for our warriors and their families. We are truly one team in this fight.”