In September 2021, the Trauma Division at PPMC joined with the United States Navy as the first civilian hospital to enter into a unique new military partnership. It is part of a broad effort to increase expertise for military clinicians and follows on a recommendation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to integrate military trauma teams into the nation’s best trauma centers where they can maintain the skills necessary for deployments to austere environments. While deployed, the Navy Trauma unit may see more cases in six months than a civilian trauma center would see over the course of years, but between deployments, these same clinicians won’t see much major trauma at all. Placing them in select civilian hospitals between deployments enables uninterrupted exposure and proficiency both for the individual and the team.
The initial Navy team mirrored the makeup of the surgical teams the Navy deploys to active combat, with four physicians, three nurses, a physician assistant, a surgical technician, and a Corpsman. They were integrates into the PPMC Trauma Division and the academic clinical departments – such as Surgery, Anesthesia, and Emergency Medicine – to gain intensive training in treating traumatic injuries from leading experts at PPMC to ensure that their skills are at the highest possible level when they deploy. However, the education has been bi-directional, added Gene Gofman, MBA, associate chief financial officer helping lead the program. “Penn Medicine’s Trauma Division is incredibly talented at training teams to work collaboratively in order to provide the best possible care to patients, and the U.S. Navy team brings a wealth of experience and skills. We’re also eager to collaborate with the Navy and Department of Defense on groundbreaking research that will advance how we care for patients and improve outcomes, both in the hospital and on the battlefield.”
Military Clinicians
LTJG Isaac Amoah
Administrator
LT Corey D. Beggs
Perioperative Nurse
Undergraduate School: Norfolk State University
LCDR Mary A. Decoteau
General Surgeon
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Residency Program: Naval Medical Center San Diego
Undergraduate School: San Diego State University
CDR Christine A. DeForest
Emergency Medicine Physician
Department Head
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency Program: Naval Medical Center San Diego
Undergraduate School: Carnegie Mellon University
HME Desiree Joseph
Surgical Technician
LCDR Feel Gu Kang
Anesthesiologist
Medical School: Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences
Residency Program: Brown University
LCDR Matthew L. Leatherman
Trauma Surgeon
Medical School: Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency Program: Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
Undergraduate School: Oregon State University
LT Joanne D. Mamie
Emergency Department Nurse
Undergraduate School: Holy Family University
LCDR Anthony N. Njoroge
Critical Care Nurse
Undergraduate School: Rhode Island College
LT Rachel Robeck
Physician Assistant
Medical School: Mercer University
Undergraduate School: University of Georgia