The Army Heat Center was created in 2019 with the mission to identify, develop, and disseminate best practices for the prevention, identification, field care, hospital care, and return-to-duty of exertional heat illness casualties. The program is located at Martin Army Community Hospital in Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), GA, and operates in close collaboration with the Warrior Heat- and Exertion-Related Events Collaborative. Services and resources available through the Army Heat Center include:
- Training and educational materials for preventing heat illness
- Treatment guidelines for both medical and nonmedical staff
- On-site visits to ensure local procedures match best practices
- Help with investigating mass heat-related incidents
- Consultations through USU's Multidisciplinary Case Review Committee (MDCRC) for difficult return-to-duty decisions
Most heat casualties come from military treatment facilities in southern states like Georgia. The Army Heat Center was established at Fort Moore due to the large number of heat casualties there and the opportunity to have the greatest positive impact.
Since its inception, the Heat Center has proven beneficial to the Maneuver Center of Excellence and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command by reducing the number and severity of heat injuries. This has strengthened the military and improved its readiness for operations.
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