Medical Professionals Honor Guard Lifesavers

New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Jamie Green and Soldiers of the 466th Area Support Medical Company receive the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) Distinguished Service Award from Michael Dowling, Chairman of HANYS? Board of Trustees and President and Chief Executive Officer of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

?This award recognizes distinguished service, and we cannot imagine service more distinguished than putting your own life on the line to provide lifesaving medical care to a fallen comrade,? Dowling said.

?Over the past two years the Soldiers of this unit dove into this job,? Green described of the mobilization training and combat tour in southern Iraq. The company operated from four locations, treating and stabilizing patients, both U.S., coalition or Iraqi, before moving them on for more advanced care. ?They took command of what they needed to do and got it done,? Green said.

A separate award was presented to National Guard Col. Dr. Joan Sullivan of Ithaca, for administering life-saving care to thousands of wounded, injured, and ill soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Sullivan accepted the award via video message from her current deployment in Kabul, Afghanistan--her second combat tour of duty overseas in the past five years. She was represented at the ceremony by her sister, Barbara Sullivan-Sicke of Lake Luzerne.

?I cannot adequately describe the pride she has in her fellow Soldiers,? Sullivan-Sicke said.

?We are truly inspired by their commitment to service, their commitment to their fellow Soldiers, and their commitment to our nation,? Dowling said. ?There are no better friends to a wounded Soldier than the 466th and Colonel Sullivan, and we believe their sacrifice should not go unnoticed.?

?I want to thank you and the hospitals you represent for being such a tremendous training ground for the National Guard,? Green said to the conference attendees. ?Our Guard medical personnel come from your civilian hospitals and they performed with a level of experience and maturity unmatched anywhere. It is to your credit and I appreciate everything you?ve don in this honor to our Soldiers.?

• (Read the Press Release of This Event)