VIDEO: How Cooper Works With Our U.S. Military to Maintain Readiness for Military Medical Teams
(CAMDEN, N.J.) — Cooper University Health Care has been invited to join the Bridging Forces portal, a national platform developed through the Military Health System Strategic Partnership American College of Surgeons (MHSSPACS). The invitation reflects Cooper’s strong engagement in advancing collaboration between military and civilian trauma systems.
The Bridging Forces portal connects leading military and civilian health care organizations with the shared goal of strengthening trauma care readiness and improving outcomes for patients injured in both civilian settings and combat environments. Cooper’s participation follows an extensive evaluation process, including both onsite and written assessments conducted as part of the MHSSPACS.
Through participation in the portal, Cooper will collaborate with institutions across the country to expand training opportunities, share best practices, and advance innovative approaches to trauma care. The initiative supports military-civilian partnerships designed to ensure that both military and civilian medical teams are prepared to deliver the highest level of care during critical emergencies.
“Military-civilian partnerships are essential to maintaining trauma readiness,” said Cooper trauma surgeon John Chovanes, DO, FACS, founding medical director and chief surgeon of Cooper’s Section of Military, Diplomatic, and Field Surgical Affairs and a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps. “By working together and sharing knowledge between military and civilian teams, we strengthen our ability to deliver lifesaving care in the most challenging circumstances—whether on the battlefield or in our communities.”
“We look forward to working with Cooper University Health Care and bringing them into the fold of the MHSSPACS Bridging Forces portal,” said Brian J. Eastridge, MD, FACS, medical director, MHSSPACS. “Our efforts to foster military-civilian partnerships are strengthened by institutions like Cooper that have dedicated themselves to training both military personnel and civilian health care providers in the service of all patients with traumatic injuries.”
The portal also serves as an educational resource to help organizations develop new military-civilian partnerships, identify training opportunities, and strengthen coordination between trauma programs nationwide.
About Cooper University Health Care’s Section of Military, Diplomatic, and Field Surgical Affairs
Cooper serves as the only Level I Trauma Center for southern New Jersey and is one of the busiest trauma centers in the region. Because of its high patient volume and expertise in surgery and critical care, Cooper is the only hospital in the United States to have trained elite medical providers from every branch of the U.S. military, along with multiple local, state, and federal agencies and international partners.
In 2019, Cooper became the first hospital in the nation to establish the AMCT3 (Army Military-Civilian Trauma Team Training) program and later that year became one of only three hospitals nationwide selected to provide specialized medical training to active duty and reserve personnel from all branches of the U.S. military through the SMART (Strategic Medical Asset Readiness Training) initiative.
About Cooper University Health Care
Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system affiliated with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Cooper, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has revenues of more than $2.4 billion and an A+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch Ratings.
Cooper has nearly 14,000 team members, including nearly 1,600 nurses, more than 1,000 employed physicians representing 95 specialties and subspecialties, and more than 700 advanced practice providers.
Cooper operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as three hospitals – its 663-bed flagship Cooper University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, and Children’s Regional Hospital in Camden.
Cooper University Hospital in Camden is the only Level 1 trauma center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region. The hospital has been recognized as a top-performing regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals annual survey for six years.
More than 2.54 million patients visit Cooper’s facilities annually. Cooper’s ambulatory network encompasses three outpatient surgery centers, seven urgent care centers, a wound care center, and more than 130 physician, physical therapy, and radiology offices extending from the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore.
Cooper was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2026 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation. Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.
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