Medical personnel from the Vancouver, Wash., unit have the capabilities to evaluate, treat and develop therapies for both combat and non-combat patients, according to Lt. Col. Paul W. Paustian, an emergency room physician and 396th CSH executive officer. The Blue Factory is a Level 3 hospital, which has means and trained personnel to stabilize, treat wounds, stop bleeding and prepare patients for evacuation, said Paustian. Blue Factory personnel also treat ill and injured patients as well as fill prescriptions. A dental clinic is also in operation at the hospital. The 396th CSH personnel also provide anesthesia and pain control, and radiology, including diagnostic ultrasound and CT scan.
Surgeons can handle general chest and vascular emergencies.
The 396th CSH staffers are trained for emergency management, triage, family practice, internal medicine, orthopedic evaluation and surgery, diagnostic laboratory, and physical therapy. A dietician, combat stress team and medical evacuation helicopter company also support the hospital. The combat stress team is available for on site psychiatric support and counseling. Because of the caliber of nurses, physicians and staff we have, we can go ahead and do some things that would normally have to be evacuated out to other places and times. The hospital also offers health care classes for the soldiers.