KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFNS) -- Medical Airmen from Keesler Air Force Base are standing by to support Hurricane Irma relief efforts if called upon.
Fresh off of a deployment to Houston, to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, a critical care air transport team is standing by to provide the same capability to those affected by Irma.
A CCATT and a medical logistics team from the 81st Medical Group are part of the Air Force’s aeromedical evacuation system. The CCATT typically consists of physicians specializing in areas such as critical care, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, surgery and cardio pulmonology.
The teams’ primary mission, if deployed to Florida, will be to operate a flying hospital, picking up patients who require advanced medical care, and transporting them to a higher echelon of care.
In addition to the CCATT, a 28-person patient-staging team from Keesler AFB could also be called up to assist relief efforts in Florida. The patient-staging team supports the CCATT by prepping patients before they are transported.