Medical maintenance maintains life-sustaining equipment

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Raughton
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Staff Sgt. Andrew Bouck, 2nd Medical Group's NCO-in-charge of medical maintenance, is in charge of more than 1,300 pieces of equipment that belong to the 2nd MDG.

Medical maintenance is responsible for the inspection, calibration and repair of all 2nd MDG equipment.

From dental chairs to x-ray machines, he ensures that all equipment in his care functions safely and reliably.

"I verify that [the equipment] falls under safety parameters for patient care," said Bouck. "I do annual preventive maintenance. [Medical maintenance] prefers to fix things because it's cheaper to fix something than to buy new equipment."

According to Bouck, the lifespan of functioning medical equipment is measured at eight years, and money is allocated for the cost of maintenance at a rate of 125 percent the cost of the equipment.

Once equipment has reached its eight year life span, medical maintenance must determine if the equipment is worth continued upkeep, or if it's more cost-effective to replace the old unit with a new one.

Bouck regularly inspects the equipment he receives on an annual rotation, but equipment critical to life or safety, such as emergency defibrillators, are checked more often.

"We want to make sure the medical group can maintain its operations without interfering with patient care," Bouck said.

Medical maintenance touches every Airman on base, because every Airman is required to have an annual personal health assessment.

Many of these Airmen also have required dental exams.

"Without [medical maintenance], we'd be at a standstill," said Tech Sgt. Jessica Perry, 2nd Dental Squadron NCO in charge of dental logistics. "They work on all of our equipment, not just the dental chairs."

Bouck saves the Air Force money by keeping maintenance and inspections in-house and keeping the Barksdale warriors healthy and mission-capable.

Because of medical maintenance, the 2nd MDG is able to effectively and efficiently see patients without maintenance interruption.