National Museum of Civil War Medicine

National Museum of Civil War Medicine
            Contact:  April Dietrich
Institutional Advancement and Communication
communication@civilwarmed.org
301-695-1864
September 14, 2010
For Immediate Release:

Medical Pioneers Honored as Unsung Heroes

The National Museums of Civil War Medicine will honor the innovative work of Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program (JTAPIC) and the leadership of COL Robert H. Vandre at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, October 21, 2010.  

In true unsung hero style, both of these recipients quietly go about their work to decrease the instances of catastrophic injuries to those in the theatre of war and increase the quality of life of our severely wounded war fighters. Few know of the existence of either of these awardees whose work has life-changing effects on soldiers around the world every day.  JTAPIC and COL Vandre will each receive a Major Jonathan Letterman Award for Medical Excellence, in recognition of their inspiring and pioneering spirit in the field of military medicine.  Major General Russell J. Czerw U.S. Army Retired, will be the keynote speaker, at the event celebrating these two innovative medical paragons.  MG Czerw, until his retirement in July of this year, was Commander of the US Army Medical Department Center and School and Fort Sam Houston and was the Chief of the Army Dental Corps.

The Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat (JTAPIC) Program was established at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD and is a partnership among DOD intelligence, operational, medical and materiel development communities.  JTAPIC collects, integrates and analyzes injury and operational data with the goal of improving the understanding of vulnerabilities to threats and enabling the development of improved tactics, techniques and procedures and materiel solutions to prevent or mitigate traumatic injuries.

Colonel Robert H. Vandre, U.S. Army Retired recognized the significant potential that the emerging field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine could have in improving the lives and livelihoods of our wounded warriors returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  These warriors, who after modern medicine had done as much as it could for them, remain severely disabled from the traumatic injuries cause by blast and burns.  COL Vandre acted on his vision and successfully led the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM).    The leadership of COL Vandre has enabled U.S. Army medicine to go beyond current medical science in helping our severely wounded troops lead a more manageable life.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, located on 48 E. Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland, established the Major Jonathan Letterman Medical Excellence Award in 2008 to recognize an organization and an individual that has contributed to the advancement of medical processes and improved patient outcomes and quality of life. The 2009 award recipient of the prestigious Major Jonathan Letterman Award for Medical Excellence was the U.S. Army’s Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4).  

For more information or to purchase tickets to attend this gala event, please contact April Dietrich, Institutional Advancement and Communications at communications@civilwarmed.org.

Websites with open source photos:
JTAPIC:    http://www.health.mil/News_And_Multimedia/News/detail/10-03-02/Analysis_Program_Focuses_on_Preventing_Combat_Injuries.aspx

COL Vandre:  http://www.defense.gov/dodcmsshare/BloggerAssets/2008-05/05070813523120080507_ColVandre_bio.pdf