Cooper University Health Care’s Section of Military, Diplomatic, and Field Surgical Affairs

Summary: Cooper University Health Care serves as the only Level I Trauma Center for all of southern New Jersey and is one of the busiest trauma centers in the region. Due to its high volume and expertise in surgery and critical care, Cooper has become one of the premier sites to train medical providers from every military branch, as well as multiple local, state, and federal government agencies and international partners. Cooper University Health Care’s Section of Military, Diplomatic & Field Surgical Affairs (MILDAF) provides the leadership and organizational support to successfully train a large variety of military and governmental medical personnel. In 2019, Cooper Health and the US Army Surgeon General’s Office established a military-civilian partnership to train Army medical personnel in trauma and critical care. Cooper was the first health system in the nation to provide training for Army trauma teams as part of the Army Medicine Military-Civilian Trauma Team Training (AMCT3) Program. Additionally, Cooper trains Army enlisted medical personnel as part of the SMART Program (Strategic Medical Asset Readiness Training Program) and Special Operations Combat Medics in support of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. In addition to military training, Cooper also helps train members of the Department of Homeland Security, medical personnel, Department of State Guardian emergency management specialists, and Department of Justice medical personnel. Cooper University Health Care can be the prototype of a successful military/governmental and civilian partnership by having 1) executive leadership support and direct reporting, 2) a hospital champion, 3) validated trauma volume, 4) infrastructure, 5) onsite embedded preceptors, 6) simulation/cadaver/live-tissue/research, 7) clear communication for deployment readiness, and 8) hospital staff buy-in and commitment.