Twenty attendees, doctors and nurses of the Italian Air Force, participated in the first edition of the “Patient Evacuation Coordination Centre” (PECC) course, dedicated to training for the coordination of medical evacuations, which took place in Rome, from 23 to 27 September 2024.
The aim of the course, organized by the AM Health Service through the medium ofPostgraduate and Training Institute in Aeronautical and Space Medicine (IPAMAS), under the aegis of the Air Force Logistics Command, is to enable the acquisition of knowledge and skills that not only allow missions to be conducted in all circumstances of time, place and climatic and operational conditions, but also to effectively coordinate such activities, through structures such as that of the PECC.
At the opening of the works, the director of IPAMAS Brigadier General Ezio Fiore, in presenting the new course that enriches the training offer of the Institute, retraced the birth and history of PECC in Italy; following this, the head of the Air Force health corps, Chief Inspector General Pietro Perelli, greeted the participants, recalling how precious the activity of the Air Force is in knowing how to transport the patient as soon as possible, in the safest way possible, to the most appropriate place of hospitalization.
The opening day also saw the intervention of the Chief of Staff of the AM Logistics Command, Air Division General Michele Oballa, who wanted to underline the importance of the PECC as a strategic resource of the Nation, and the need to have specialized personnel for this type of activity, with a view to enhancing and promoting the international commitments of the Air Force.
The theoretical phase of the course focused on medical assets in operational theaters and on Italy's participation in the European Air Transport Command (EATC), a multinational central command (composed of Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain), which applies the concept of "pooling & sharing" to the military air transport sector with the aim of improving and optimizing the management of available resources, thanks to the use of a "common" fleet, larger than those of individual countries.
Following this, the assets involved in strategic evacuations (STRATEVAC) were presented, with the medical officers of the health projection group of the main infirmary of Pratica di Mare, and the role, tasks and structure of the ITPECC, managed within the joint operational command (COVI), as well as the NATO framework, were defined.
In the training phase, the attendees created the actual setup of a health operations room in the context of a large event, with the management of simulated cases and training in communications. Divided into work groups, they then carried out an exercise with real international coordination with theaeromedical evacuation coordination centre (AECC) in Eindhoven, which provided its collaboration for the realization of the event.
Accompanied by the head of the general health service inspector Fabio Morgagni, the logistics commander of the AM, air force general Antonio Conserva wanted to meet the attendees on the day of practical exercise, underlining in his speech the strong aeronautical peculiarity of this health system, and the need to invest in specialized aeronautical and space training at a time of strong renewal of the Armed Forces, called to the difficult challenges of the near future.
The educational path, led by scientific referents Major Daniele Pichelli and Captain Giulia Guadalupi of the Institute of Aeronautical and Space Medicine in Rome, saw the involvement of numerous officers of the Armed Forces who, by virtue of their proven experience in the sector, played the role of "facilitators", creating a virtuous handover to the youngest attendees.
IPAMAS, named since 2018 in memory of Lieutenant Francesco Paolo Remotti, a medical officer of the AM who died in the Kindu massacre on 11 November 1961, is the Armed Forces body responsible for secondary education, training and professional development in the health field of all AM personnel. It depends directly on the health service of the logistics command, under whose aegis all teaching activities are carried out. The Institute is also the sole FA provider accredited by the National Agency for Regional Health Services (Agenas) of the Ministry of Health for Continuing Medical Education (ECM) activities. In addition to training military rescuers and biocontainment operators, the Institute carries out many other training activities including the basic course in Aeronautical and Space Medicine, also open to medical officers of other Armed Forces and State armed forces, and civilians, accredited by ENAC and recognized as an essential prerequisite for obtaining the qualification of aeromedical examiner (AME).
