2004 - FIP New Orleans: Day 6 – Wed 8 Sep: New Orleans

We visited the Keesler Air Force Base today, in particular the Keesler Medical Centre which is home to the 81^st Medical Group. The 81st Medical Group operates one of the largest Air Force medical facilities in the Force. Its primary mission is to maintain medical readiness for worldwide contingencies by providing quality, cost-effective health care for more than 27,000 enrolees, including almost 7,500 active-duty members. We were split into five smaller groups to tour five areas of the facility: a research laboratory - amongst the numerous types of research projects carried out by this laboratory were ones investigating new surgical techniques; a DNA and chromosome identification facility - the prime task of this facility was to screen samples on request to identify genetic based medical conditions; the outpatient pharmacy - this facility is run primarily by technicians and robots and It was noted that some of the staff were volunteers (these retired military personnel give free hours to the pharmacy to enable the military staff to concentrate on the dispensing process), and included a two-lane, drive-through pharmacy; cytotoxic dispensary; and the inpatient pharmacy and TPN production unit. The visit included lunch at the Officers Mess.

After a rather long bus ride back to the hotel, it was time to shower and change into Mess Dress for the section dinner, which was held in the hotel, so again, not far to go. It was a subdued dinner due to the long day we had had at Keesler, but mainly due to the interminably boring speech.