Redstone Arsenal personnel can expect some interruptions to the workday on Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Thatâs because the Arsenal will be completing a full-scale exercise, a simulated emergency scenario designed to test and evaluate emergency response procedures. Tameline Black, a Garrison emergency management specialist and lead exercise planner, said this yearâs simulation will be a severe weather event.
Full-scale exercises occur every 18-24 months in accordance with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program and are designed with the installationâs most likely threats in mind. The installationâs response will be evaluated by representatives from Installation Management Command.
The exercise will not only impact Redstone Arsenal tenants â Black said community stakeholders will also be involved, including Madison County EMA, Huntsville Utilities and HEMSI.
When a family member has a chronic condition, the challenges of navigating complex healthcare and educational systems can be overwhelming. Natalie Taylor knows better than most how much more difficult
Hindsight was 20/20 for a Redstone Arsenal optometrist as she reflected on the challenges of 2020 in a contest-winning essay.
Bridget Hayes, an optometrist at Fox Army Health Center, wrote the essay as an entry for a center-wide contest in honor of National Patient Safety Awareness Week this March.
Dr. Margaret Bates, deputy for quality and safety at Fox, put out the call for contest entries based on the theme âTogether We are Better, Stronger, Safer.â
âI wanted folks to shine a spotlight on how he/she contributes to patient care at this facility,â Bates said.
Deputies at the center judged the entries based on examples of achievements and contributions to patient safety, education and training that has been provided to patients, originality, and paragraph and sentence structure.
Fox Army Health Center Deputy to the Commander for Quality and Safety Dr. Margaret Bates credits her 42-year nursing career with those who contributed to her professional development, with one of them being her older cousin, who inspired her to become a nurse.
âEverything she said and did flowed from her warm and caring personality,â Bates said. âI knew I wanted to be just like her and do the same type of work.â
Bates started her career in the mid-1970s working at M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute & Hospital as a graduate nurse. While waiting on her board results, Bates had the opportunity to give chemotherapy treatment to a patient. She recalled the paralyzing fear of making an error in that moment but credits the staff and patients of M.D. Anderson for laying the foundation of her nursing career.
Summer is approaching quickly, and that means that hundreds of Soldiers are preparing for a permanent change of station, or PCS, move.
Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Juan Jimenez said Redstone Arsenal is expecting 50-60 new Soldiers this year, including several that were unable to take new assignments in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. These Soldiers will fill positions across the installation, from Fox Army Health Center to the many Army tenant organizations.
The Garrison offers several resources for Soldiers PCSing into the area. First, Jiminez said, each Soldier will receive a sponsor, often the person whose position they will be filling when they arrive.