The Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care (C5) facility is expanding its prosthetic care unit.
The $240,000 ongoing expansion includes space for two additional treatment rooms, a check-in area, storage space and a second set of parallel bars, according to a press release.
The second phase will renovate the existing prosthetics fabrication room, which will increase capability and capacity. The entire project is expected to be completed the first week of November.
“The expansion is great because it will allow us to add new staff, and the installation of a second set of parallel bars will allow us to get two wounded warriors up on their legs at the same time, which will relieve some of the congestion in that area,” Lt. Cmdr. Wendy Stone, deputy director of the C5 program, said in the release. “[The C5 patients are] high-performance athletes, so they don’t just require walking limbs and a backup, which are the basics that we give them; they also want a running leg, a surfing leg and a swimming leg. They’re very active so we want to be able to fulfill that requirement. The expansion will allow C5 staff members to continue to give patients the best possible care.”
C5 was established in 2007 to support the care of 40 patients with single amputations. However, the facility now treats approximately 100 active duty service members and 50 retirees, many with multiple amputations. In fiscal year 2011, patients were fitted with 418 prosthetic devices, including feet, ankles, legs, hands and arms. In the first three quarters of this year, C5 staff fitted 470 devices, according to the release.
