Arctic Medics named ‘Dimes’ nurses of the year Published Dec. 3, 2008 By Airman 1st Class David Carbajal 3rd Wing Public Affairs ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Five members of the 3rd Medical Group were honored at the 2008 Alaska March of Dimes Nurse of the Year banquet. Winning in five of the 16 categories, the 3rd MDG had the largest group of winners from one facility. Maj. Julie Hanson, 3rd Surgical Operations Squadron, provides extensive preventative health guidelines and surpassed her peers by attending colposcopy training and performing 85 colposcopies and biopsies ensuring high grade abnormalities were followed up appropriately with a physician. In addition, Major Hanson also broadened her scope of care by completing a self-paced first trimester ultrasound course, enabling her to perform 175 ultrasounds. Maj. Bob McCurry, the Director of the Anchorage Multi-Service Market Office, facilitated and optimized the health care delivery for more than 106,000 Department of Defense and Veterans Administration beneficiaries by developing joint resourcing initiatives within the Anchorage and Mat-Su Boroughs. He assisted in the management of a $42 million budget by overseeing the expenditures of $30 million federal for healthcare delivered within these communities. In an effort to bring wounded warriors home to Alaska, Major McCurry oversees the "Bringing Alaskans Home" program with which 147 injured servicemembers were returned to Anchorage to receive medical care and recover from war-related injuries. As a result of this work, Major McCurry received personal recognition from the Army Surgeon General. Wendy Moore, 3rd Medical Support Squadron, standardizes care across the hospital for several high volume inpatient populations. In an effort to enhance quality assurance, she led an interdisciplinary team to develop a four-day clinical pathway for total joint replacement reducing the average length of stay from 7.3 days to 4.6 days. From this reduction, annual bed-utilization days are 280 with associated cost savings of $412,000. Ms. Moore actively partners with our resource management team to complete 100 percent clinical insurance reviews, collecting an unprecedented $798,000 for the 3rd MDG budget. As oversight for the reimbursement waivers for specialty care rendered downtown, Ms. Moore arranged coverage for 29 patients to have surgery in Anchorage while saving the DOD $438,602. Lt. Col. Ryan Schercliffe, the Emergency Room's flight commander, met this year's 15 percent rise in ER visits and is on track to exceed 30,000 annual visits - a first in the 3rd Medical Group's history. In February, he expanded services to treat an extra 400 patients per month after 3,800 4/25th Infantry Brigade soldiers re-deployed from Iraq. Colonel Shercliffe has long been a volunteer for the American Heart Association and teaches courses like CPR. This year the AHA selected him to chair their national Program Administration committee. He was instrumental in rolling out a new training program Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS). This course prepares a broad range of healthcare workers to intervene and prevent children from becoming critically ill. Maj. Antoinette Shinn, 3rd Surgical Operations Squadron, as a senior perioperative nurse at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Afghanistan, was responsible for $2.5 million in surgical assets, utilization of three trauma suites meeting the requirements of 10 surgeons and 30 staff members where they performed 675 emergency procedures. During two mass casualties involving 54 military personnel, her surgical team stopped hemorrhaging vessels, closed wounds, repaired fractures, and stabilized the seriously wounded for evacuation with a 98 percent survival rate. Prior to departing Afghanistan, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for distinguished service.