Pikes Peak DDRP wins community awareness award

Staff Sgt. Don Branum
50th Space Wing Public Affairs

SCHRIEVER AFB, Colo. -- Schriever’s Drug Demand Reduction Program is part of a consolidated Pikes Peak DDRP that recently won the 15th-annual Secretary of Defense Community Awareness Award.

Officials will present the award to Pikes Peak DDRP representatives at the Pentagon Oct. 24 to kick off this year’s National Red Ribbon Week.

Winning the award took a group effort of all four Air Force installations in the Colorado Springs area, said Edward Roski, Schriever DDRP manager.

The Pikes Peak DDRP established a comprehensive community prevention network with clear results, wrote Kevin Mills, chief of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment program and DDRP for Air Force Personnel Command, in his recommendation for the Pikes Peak DDRP to receive the award.

The community awareness award recognizes steps the programs in the area have taken beyond drug enforcement efforts. The Pikes Peak DDRP also focused on prevention and education, both on base and in the surrounding community.

“We all think early prevention and drug education is the key to preventing drug use,” he said.

A newcomer’s briefing provides information on topics such as drugs Airmen should be aware of and avoid. A briefing in the First-Term Airmen Center shares the consequences to career and health should Airmen choose to use drugs.

“They need to know right away what can happen if they make those bad choices - especially in the Air Force,” said Roski. “We have zero tolerance for use of illicit drugs.”

The Air Force’s policy means the vast majority of Airmen caught using drugs have bought themselves one-way tickets into confinement and out of the military.

During commander calls, the Schriever DDRP provides presentations about drinking and driving. The DDRP also set up an obstacle course at this year’s base picnic using small cones and goggles that simulate drivers’ perception while intoxicated.

As part of Project ALERT, Pikes Peak DDRPs take their shows on the road between January and March. They go to nearby schools’ sixth- to eighth-grade classrooms and teach drug prevention. During Red Ribbon Week in October, DDRPs also give mass presentations to schoolchildren from kindergarten through third grade.

“We teach what happens to their bodies and their families [from drug use],” said Mr. Roski. “The body’s not designed to push in stuff like that. Curiosity is a big reason kids try drugs. If someone already knows what the effects of drugs are, he’s more likely to think before he tries them.”

DDRPs welcome volunteers to help with outreach programs. They also emphasize family involvement with the education process.

“A lot of responsibility falls to parents to talk to their kids,” he said.

AFMS nurse joins National Institute of Nursing Research team

Col. John S. Murray

WASHINGTON -- PThe National Institute of Nursing Research has announced the appointment of Col. John S. Murray, PhD, as its newest member to the NINR National Advisory Council for Nursing Research. Murray was selected for this appointment from across the Department of Defense by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.

Members of the council are from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines relevant to the activities of the National Institutes of Health. At least seven of these members are accomplished nurses who are internationally recognized experts in the area of clinical practice, education and/or research.

The NINR, part of the National Institutes of Health, supports basic and clinical research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span — from management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

“We’re excited that [he] is joining NINR’s team,” said Patricia Grady, Ph.D., NINR director, who added that Murray "brings to this position an extraordinary record of scientific achievement and leadership.”

Murray comes to NINR from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where he serves as associate dean and professor in the graduate school of nursing. Dr. Murray is the first Department of Defense nurse in the Uniformed Services University’s history to be appointed a full professor. He is also a member of the TriService Nursing Research Program advisory council and is the consultant to the Air Force surgeon general for research.

Researcher wins national award

David McGlasson prepares plasma samples in the 59th Clinical Research Squadron laboratory. He received a scientific research award from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. (Photo by Sue Campbell)

By Sue Campbell
59th MDW Public Affairs -- Mr. David McGlasson, a clinical research scientist with the 59th Clinical Research Squadron, received a scientific research award from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science for his studies using the Anti-factor Xa chromogenic assay for monitoring Heparin therapy.

“In layman’s terms, we were looking at a different way of monitoring people on Heparin than had been done in the past,” Mr. McGlasson said.

Heparin is an anticoagulant. It is often used as a treatment for certain blood vessel, heart, and lung conditions. Heparin is used to prevent blood clotting during open-heart surgery, bypass surgery, and dialysis. It is also used in low doses to prevent the formation of blood clots in certain patients, especially those who must have certain types of surgery or who must remain in bed for a long time.

Mr. McGlasson conducted a six-month research study and published two papers that were printed in professional journals.

“We found the Anti-factor Xa test is more specific in letting the physician know how much Heparin the patient has in their system. Also, we determined a way to monitor people that are on different types of Heparin,” Mr. McGlasson said. “There are about five types but we looked at the two primarily used at Wilford Hall. We were able to use a single test to monitor both of the different types of Heparin.”

Individuals on Heparin will benefit by Mr. McGlasson’s findings, as their Heparin status will be more accurately monitored with less blood drawn. “If a patient is not monitored closely enough, they bleed or clot too easily,” Mr. McGlasson said.

Medical personnel can also benefit from his findings, as physicians are required to perform fewer tests and laboratory staff won’t have to call the floors to ask what type of Heparin the patient is on.

Mr. McGlasson received his scientific research award during the ASCLS’s annual awards ceremony at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The award recognizes and encourages the development of scientific research in the field of clinical laboratory science within the past two years.

“I’m very grateful to everyone who helped with my studies, especially the co-authors of one of my research papers and the Wilford Hall Medical Center pharmacy staff,” Mr. McGlasson said.