Medical Top Guns

Dr. Gregory Bell, oral and maxillofacial surgeon and captain in the United States Air Force, is a third generation military man who has followed in the footsteps of those before him. 

“My grandfather was in the military, during World War II he was in the Navy. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and I always heard stories of that growing up, and I had a tremendous amount of respect for my grandfather,” Dr. Bell said.

“My dad was in the Air Force as a young man, so those stories all together and the experiences that they had made me want to join the military and serve their country like they did.”

Since Community Regional is the only Level 1 trauma center from Los Angeles to Sacramento, residents from the David Grant Medical Center near Fairfield, such as Dr. Bell, come to Fresno for hands-on training.

“The oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at David Grant Medical Center is up at Travis Air Force Base, and while we do a number of fine surgeries up there, however, David Grant is not a Level 1 trauma center, so we miss out on some experience up there that only a Level 1 trauma center can provide,” Dr. Bell said.

Dr. Gregory Bell, oral and maxiofacial surgeon and captain in the United States Air Force.

Dr. Gerald Alexander, a Community Regional oral and maxillofacial surgeon and professor for the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry Residency Program, works closely with the air base residents. He also completed his residency with Community at Valley Medical Center, the former University Medical Center, in 1976, and has been with Community for about 20 years. 

“I love taking young men and women who are just out of dental school and have done an internship and watching them develop from having very few skills at all, to having them transfer into a full-fledged oral and maxillofacial surgeon,” Dr. Alexander said.

What sets Community Regional and other Level 1 trauma centers apart from regular emergency departments is that they have the specialists required, such as Dr. Alexander, to treat serious life-threatening injuries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The medical residents at Community Regional benefit from these cases and are able to obtain “real life” experience on a daily basis at a trauma center.

“With each month we seem to be getting a greater number and a variety of injuries, so from a training standpoint, that’s a very good thing. And it also provides a service for the community while these doctors are training. We get patients as far away as up to 100- to 150- mile radius,” Dr. Alexander said.

This story was reported by Rebecca Wass. She can be reached at rwass@communitymedical.org.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008