Robert Elwood MD

Education

2007 fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases - National Capital Consortium, Bethesda, Maryland
2003 residency in General Pediatrics - Travis AFB, Fairfield, California
2000 MD - Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
1996 BS - Weber State University, Ogden, Utah

Biography

Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Elwood is the Chief of the Medical Staff, 10th Medical Group, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. Dr. Elwood oversees outpatient clinical activities for 235 credentialed providers, in a wide range of specialties serving 4,110 cadets and 21,090 other beneficiaries. Furthermore, he supervises medical operations during contingencies and chairs the Executive Committee of Medicine, Credentials Committee, Population Health Working Group, and Professional Staff Functions.

Lieutenant Colonel Elwood entered the Air Force in 1996 upon matriculation to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Following graduation, he completed residency in general pediatrics followed by a year as Chief Resident at Travis AFB, California. While Chief Resident, he oversaw the training and education of 18 pediatric house officers. In 2004, he returned to the National Capital Consortium where he completed a fellowship in the subspecialty of pediatric infectious disease as well as a certification course in international medicine & traveler’s health. In 2007 he was assigned to the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland AFB and the San Antonio Military Medical Center where he rose to the position of Chief of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Service. In this position, he oversaw 500 annual patient encounters while managing a $750K special vaccine clinic for high risk patients and directing the recruitment of medical students for the residency program. Also during this time, he deployed for six months in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and was the sole pediatrician in the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram, Afghanistan from January to July, 2009. Finally, he also directed or participated in seven tri-service medical humanitarian or medical educational missions to Latin America and Africa. In 2012, he took command of the 366th Medical Operations Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho where he led 100 staff members in the production of medical services worth $4.4M annually. His leadership at Mountain Home resulted in multiple military and clinical medicine awards for squadron members and the Medical Group. From July 2014 to July 2017, Dr. Elwood was the Chief of Medical Staff for the 31st Medical Group at Aviano Airbase, Italy where he oversaw the clinical privileges for 84 multi-disciplinary providers and mentored 20 Medical Corps officers. He also managed the medical overseas clearance process, quality of care programs, Tricare consultations, and aeromedical evacuations. Dr. Elwood is board certified in general pediatrics, pediatric infectious disease, and international medicine & traveler’s health. He has 17 years of clinical experience serving within CONUS and OCONUS assignments as well as contingency deployments, and he has published nine scholarly articles in medical literature. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and speaks some Italian, and he has Special Experience Identifiers within the International Health Specialist Program, the Language Enabled Airman Program, and clinical/academic medicine. He is a husband and a father of three boys, ages 18, 16, and 11 years.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

June 2017 - current: Chief of Medical Staff, 10th Medical Group, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

July 2014 - June 2017: Chief of Medical Staff, 31st Medical Group, Aviano Airbase, Italy

2015: Winner of USAFE/AFAFRICA’s The Chief of the Medical Staff, Commitment to Excellence Award

June 2012 - June 2014: Commander, 366th Medical Operations Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Mountain Home, ID

July 2007 - June 2012: Staff physician/Chief, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 59th Medical Group, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX

January 2009 - July 2009: Deployed as pediatrician/intensivist to Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan

June 2007: Winner of the Bailey K. Ashford research award at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

July 2004 - June 2007: Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, National Capital Consortium, Bethesda, MD

July 2003 - June 2004: Chief Resident in Pediatrics, 60th Medical Group, David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA

July 2000 - June 2003: Resident in Pediatrics, 60th Medical Group, David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA

Representative Bibliography

-Sutter DE, Bradshaw LU, Simkins LH, Summers AM, Atha M, Elwood RL, Robertson JL, Murray CK, Wortmann GL, Hospenthal DR. “High Incidence of Multidrug-resistant Gram Negative Bacteria Recovered from Afghan Patients at a Deployed US Military Hospital”. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 2011 Sep;32(9):854-60.

-Elwood RL. Contributing Author: Infectious Diseases. In: Pediatric Surgery and Medicine for Hostile Environments. 2011. Borden Institute. Washington, DC

-Jung H, Elwood RL. “Pediatric Ophthalmologic Infectious Diseases in the Developing World” International Ophthalmology Clinics. 2010 Fall;50(4):149-62.

-Elwood RL, Rajnik M, Wilson S, Yim K, Blanco JC, Nikonenko B, Hemming VG. “Characterization of late tuberculosis infection in Sigmodon hispidus”, Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2009 Mar;89(2):183-8. Epub 2009 Feb 15.

-Elwood RL, DeBiasi RL. “Purulent pericarditis caused by nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in a pediatric patient.” Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2008 Sep;62(1):113-5. Epub 2007 Nov 28.

-Elwood RL, Wilson S, Blanco JC, Yim K, Pletneva L, Nikonenko B, Samala R, Joshi S, Hemming VG, Trucksis M. “The American cotton rat: A novel model for pulmonary tuberculosis”, Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2007 Mar;87(2):145-54. Epub 2006 Sep 12. doi:10.1016/j.tube.2006.07.001.

-Elwood RL, Spencer SE. “Successful clearance of catheter-related bloodstream infection by antibiotic lock therapy using ampicillin.” Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Feb 2006, Vol 40:2 pp. 347-50.

-Golden MS, Hauge I, Elwood RL, Young S, Thornton J. “Serum Amyloid A (SAA) Values in Term Infant Umbilical Cord Serum Using Two-Layer Monoclonal Antibody ELISA Immunoassay” Laboratory Medicine. Jun 2005, Vol 36:6 pp. 357-60.

-Elwood RL, Pelszynski MM, Corman LI. “Multifocal Septic Arthritis and Osteomyelitis caused by Group A Streptococcus in a Patient Receiving Immunomodulating Therapy with Etanercept.” The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. Mar 2003, Vol 22:3 pp.286-288.