PM MST Focuses on Medical Simulation and Training

Medical simulation training was called out as a top priority in the President’s 2021 Budget.  The Department of Defense (DOD) highlighted medical simulation training as a priority investment in its Military Health System (MHS) modernization and readiness description. The MHS investment strategy focused on the transition of the military treatment facilities from the services’ Surgeons General to the Defense Health Agency and continued investments in trauma courses, medical simulation training and electronic health records. This noteworthy emphasis represents the significance DOD holds in medical simulation and its considerable future in support of medical readiness and education.

One of the newest Team Orlando members is the Program Manager for Medical Simulation and Training (PM MST). Team Orlando welcomed PM MST as an official member in late summer of 2020. Co-located in the Central Florida Research Park with other core Team Orlando members, PM MST was established by the Defense Health Agency (DHA) on June 26, 2020. The organization is headed by Mr. Jude Tomasello and reports to the DHA Component Acquisition Executive.

The PM MST mission is to be the provider of choice committed to developing, acquiring, delivering, and sustaining medical simulation capabilities to optimize Warfighter readiness and improve healthcare. In short, the organization is totally focused on medical simulation and training and getting it to the hospitals, military commands and organizations across the healthcare spectrum.

PM MST’s close relationship with government and industry customers enables quick and efficient delivery and collaboration, whether it is to the front line for combatant commands or to military hospitals across the world and throughout the military health system. The scope includes development, acquisition, production, testing, fielding and sustaining medical training solutions and services.

“PM MST had its beginnings as a joint project office (JPO) that was created when data from casualties and patient outcomes from point of injury through hospital care highlighted the need for accurate, consistent, and sustainable training using training aids, devices, simulations, and simulators as enablers,” said Jude Tomasello, program manager for Medical Simulation and Training.

“The JPO was originally established by the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) in partnership with the Army Acquisition Executive and the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) and was created to provide medical training solutions and life cycle management to the Military Health System (MHS) and Department of Veteran Affairs while the newly created Defense Health Agency (DHA) matured to Full Operational Capability.”

As part of the Team Orlando community, PM MST is a full participant in the collaborative environment. The organization participates in technology and simulation discussions and looks forward to viewing capability demonstrations from industry and other federal organizations that will advance medical simulation, training, and learning technologies. PM MST also looks to build close partnerships with local civilian hospitals and their simulation centers to share best practices toward improving trainee and patient outcomes.

“PM MST is focused on providing enterprise-level collaboration and coordination with the other Team Orlando members,” said Tomasello. “We have multiple contracting avenues that includes Other Transaction Authority (OTAs), Middle Tier Acquisition, and FAR based contracting. Our major contracting support comes from DHA, General Services Administration (GSA), and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure we provide the very best support to military treatment facilities and readiness requirements of the Operating Forces.”

Team Orlando News found this article about PM MST by Faircount Media to be an excellent resource with additional information.