Afghan senator member visits injured locals at Bagram hospital, assesses medical care

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

06.22.2007

Courtesy Story

Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO

By Senior Airman Dilia DeGrego
Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- A member of Afghan parliament stopped in at the Craig Joint-Theater Hospital intensive care unit here June 18 to visit patients and assess the medical care being provided.

Salih Mohammad, a senator of Kunar province, said was highly pleased with the medical care local

Afghan patients, who are victims of recent insurgent attacks, are receiving at the hospital.

"Thirty years of war has brought a lot of atrocity to this country, and we can not provide the kind of quality [medical] care that is offered here. We are all grateful for all the care they are receiving," Mohammad said.

"There is hope here that [the doctors] can save their extremities and their lives," he continued. "That is a huge success for the Afghan people. It is a fact that every patient who gets recovery care here gets very good treatment. We are always so happy to hear about their time spent here."

Kareemullah, a recovering patient who was injured during a recent insurgent rocket attack, commented with a smile about his experience during his stay at the hospital.

"Today, I am happy because I am going home from the hospital, but the hospital staff are not like a staff, they are like family members with me," Kareemullah said. "I have never felt like I was away from home."

The hospital staff said they are all thankful for the opportunity to serve and help the Afghan people.

The Craig Joint Theater Hospital is named after Army Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig, a medic with the 159th Medical Company, 10th Mountain Division, who lost his life during a medical rescue mission in 2006. The hospital, which opened March 4, is the most advanced one in the area of operations and features a four-bed trauma bay, three operating rooms and a state-of-the-art dental clinic.

• Date Taken: 06.22.2007
• Date Posted: 06.22.2007 08:13
• Story ID: 10926
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF