New York Medical College (NYMC), a member of Touro University, announced it has been awarded $10 million by the Department of Defense (DOD) in partnership with the Uniformed Services University (USU) – the DOD’s own medical school – to address one of the most urgent and underexamined challenges in civilian and military tactical medicine: how to save lives when immediate evacuation isn’t possible.
The award comes at a critical moment in both U.S. community and defense preparedness. Unlike the post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where near-total air superiority allowed for rapid battlefield evacuation, future engagements with near-peer adversaries such as Russia or China may leave injured warfighters requiring prolonged medical care in austere, hostile environments – for days and sometimes for weeks – before evacuation is possible. In addition, in domestic acts of violence, mass casualty and hazardous events, the usual paradigm of rapid EMS scene transport to a hospital may not be possible, and without care in these prolonged scene situations, loss of life could be significant. This $10 million, three-year program is designed to close those gaps.
“This award represents a critical investment in the future of civilian and battlefield medicine,” said David Markenson, director of the NYMC Center for Disaster Medicine. “By combining New York Medical College’s expertise in disaster medicine and emergency care with the Uniformed Services University’s unparalleled military medical knowledge, we will develop the protocols, tools, and training that will enable combat medics and first responders to save lives when transport of victims to definitive care is prolonged, no matter how remote or austere the environment.”
“Institutions like this are doing much more than educating the next generation of doctors and health professionals. They are preparing our communities and our country to respond when disaster strikes. That’s why I was proud to help secure a $10 million Department of War investment announced earlier this year as another tremendous example of what can happen when we invest at the federal level in the expertise and innovation that exists right here in the Hudson Valley,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17).
Working in close collaboration with USU, NYMC will lead a multi-pronged initiative with four core areas of focus: developing evidence-based treatment protocols and equipment inventories for combat and mass violence scenarios; creating medical care approaches and treatment algorithms for prolonged casualty care; austere environments informed by real-world data from both military and civilian experiences; and pioneering artificial intelligence in tactical medical care and immersive education models using virtual reality and augmented reality to train both military units and civilian first responders.
Care Protocols, Artificial Intelligence and Education, including VR and AR training tools developed through the program, will address:
- Combat and Civilian Medical Care in Austere Conditions
- Care in a Hostile Environment
- Response to Mass Violence like Mass Shooting Events
- Bleeding Control and Management
- Rural Responder Training
- Geographically Dispersed Education for Military and Civilian Teams
- Military and Civilian Team Training Using a Metaverse Approach for both VR and AR
The program will unfold in three phases over three years: an Evaluation Phase assessing existing military and civilian research and lessons learned; a Development Phase producing new care models, treatment algorithms, and VR/AR educational tools; and a Pilot and Distribution Phase testing and broadly distributing the final models to military and civilian partners nationwide.
