US Navy and UCI Health expand successful trauma training collaboration

 UCI Health is expanding its successful partnership with the U.S. Navy West Coast-based fleet of surgical teams. The partnership provides U.S. Navy clinical personnel with hands-on trauma and critical care experiences at UCI Medical Center, Orange County’s only Level 1 trauma center, ahead of deployment.

Since 2022, more than 50 U.S. Navy surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, corpsmen and other clinical personnel have rotated through the medical center’s trauma, critical care, burn and surgical intensive care units, where the most critical patients are admitted.

On June 26, representatives from Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and university leaders from UCI Health and UC Irvine School of Medicine signed a memorandum of understanding to formally approve an expansion of the transformative military-civilian trauma training and knowledge exchange. Similar relationships exist with Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and First Med Battalion at Camp Pendleton.

“This experience fosters continuous knowledge exchange and skill improvement between the Navy’s expeditionary medical teams and UC Irvine staff, in one of the region’s busiest trauma centers with a long history of military partnership,” said U.S. Navy Capt. John Steely, commander, force surgeon for Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

“Working alongside the talented and experienced trauma teams at UCI Medical Center makes our fleet surgical teams more proficient, ensuring the health and well-being of our U.S. Sailors and Marines.”

Read the full story on UCI Health.