JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Located on the Joint Base Andrews flightline, 79th Medical Wing Comfort Stations provide relief to air show patrons who might experience minor injuries during the 2012 Joint Service Open House and Air Show activities here May 18 - 20.
The 2012 JSOH and Air Show affords the public an opportunity to meet the men and women of the Armed Forces and to see military equipment through the efforts of active duty, Guard and Reserve service members, as well as civilian employees, retirees and family members. All JSOH attendees, whether they are a performer, volunteer or JSOH visitor, are allowed to utilize these comfort stations during their time on the Andrews flightline.
"There is one comfort station on each corner of the Joint Base Andrews flightline," said Tech. Sgt. Shane Matti, 779th Medical Operations Squadron cardio pulmonary technician and comfort station attendant. "While medical foot teams will be continuously roaming the flightline throughout the air show, comfort stations provide stationary medical relief that may be easier for guests to locate than a roaming medic."
While the primary duty of these stations is to provide relief of minor injuries with amenities such as sun screen, band-aids, water, shade and a spot to take a quick break, no injury is too small to bring to a comfort station attendant's attention.
"If an injury is too severe for one of our stations to handle, each site has a golf cart ready to transport people to the first-aid station," said Senior Airman Christine Neff, 779th Medical Operations Squadron cardiopulmonary technician and comfort station attendant.
Additionally, with more-than-perfect weather conditions forecasted for this weekend, a larger-than-average influx of air show patrons is expected so medical comfort stations are slated to stay open as long as they are needed.
"We'll be open until approximately 6:30 p.m. each night of the JSOH, well after the last aerial demonstration has flown," said Neff. "We want to be able to provide the best in medical care to this weekend's guests, assuring them that we're glad they're here and we're readily available for everyone if they need us."