Wheelbarrows to wheelchairs: Iraqi Army, local doctors and Soldiers provide medical care

Photo By Staff Sgt. Eric Rutherford | An Iraqi army soldier hands a pair of shoes to an Iraqi boy during a Medical Civil Action Program event in Bulayj, Iraq, Feb. 25. All Iraqi children who came to the event received multi-vitamins, toys, school supplies and shoes. All of the items were donated to medics of 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment by parties in the United States to hand out during the event.  

IRAQ

04.03.2008

Story by Sgt. Eric Rutherford 

115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Eric A. Rutherford
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BULAYJ, Iraq – In Iraq's rural western Ninevah province, where the average household income is around $45 a month and terrorists still operate, health care is not the primary concern of most citizens.

Iraqi health care is certainly a concern of the Soldiers of 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment. In an effort to help the Iraqis become more concerned with their own health and to earn the trust of Soldiers and the Iraqi army working in the area, 4-6 medics teamed up with the Iraqi army's 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment and the Military Transition Team to conduct Operation Band-Aid 2.

This is the second time the team has worked in the area, providing acute care to local Iraqis and cross-training with Iraqi medical providers and IA medics in the town of roughly 6,000 residents.

Poor weather conditions didn't stop the more than 200 people who came to the clinic to receive care, most of whom were women and children. Several families brought disabled family members to the clinic, literally in wheelbarrows, hoping to receive one of the six wheelchairs that were given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Our primary objectives were to work with the local nationals and the IA to further legitimize the role of the IA in security and medical expertise in that village," said Capt. David Adam of Seattle, the flight surgeon for 4-6.

The program, known as the Medical Civil Action Program, was put together by Adam and Maj. James Montgomery, team leader of the 1-3-3 MiTT.

"Six months ago, if I had approached the MiTT and told them I wanted to do a MedCAP in Bulayj, they would have laughed at me," said Adam of the planning stages of the program. "This is a good example of the evolution of a town that is changing and starting to trust us and to stand up for themselves."

One of the objectives during this MedCAP was to put the IA out front in providing security for the town, so the medics and doctors could treat the patients in a secure area.

"There was a huge emphasis on letting the IA do security, and that allowed us to provide medical care," said Adam. "The IA were the MVPs there. This time, to take it one step further, we did the cross-training piece with the local docs."

During the event, 4-6 medics had the opportunity to work not just with local Iraqi doctors, but their IA medic counterparts as well.

"Iraqi doctors aren't too different from working with American doctors," said Spc. Kevin Malott of Cincinnati. "They are very knowledgeable and willing to learn. They aren't where American doctors are because of the inability to go to school, but they are good doctors. They have medical knowledge; they just don't have the tools."

Malott, a medic with 4-6 also said the MedCAP went quite well. They even had some of the same patients from the first MedCAP two months ago.

One focus of the event wasn't just to give Iraqis a bag of pills and send them on their way, Malott and the other medics focused on healthcare education with the people they saw.

Malott said he was able to provide a lot of education to the patients he saw, not just to educate the people on how to use the medicine they were receiving, but to give them more of a hands-on approach to their own medical care.

There were challenges at the event. The two biggest challenges were the language barrier and cultural differences. Malott said all of his conversations had to go through an interpreter, so some important information may have been lost in translation. Iraqi culture also has strict separation of the sexes, which can provide another barrier to health care.

"Another challenge is the customs here," said Malott. "I am not allowed to talk to women. A woman brought her child in, and I wasn't allowed to look the woman in the eyes when I was talking to her about her child's needs."

To overcome this, 4-6 brought a female medic with them to see all the female patients. Spc. Rachel Deck of Carlsbad, Calif., is a medic for Med Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3d ACR, and was present at this MedCAP to treat female patients.

"It went really well, I was really excited to be a part of it," Deck said. "It was a challenge not being able to help everyone. We were there to treat acute problems, but (some), we couldn't help. We could write them referrals, but some things we couldn't help."

A common problem in Iraq is malnutrition in children. To help combat this, medics handed out chewable multi-vitamins to every child they saw.

"There is a lot of malnutrition in children," said Malott. "I saw a five year old that was the size of a one year old back in the states. Their food isn't fortified with vitamins like in the states – they can't drink their own water, so there is a lot of malnutrition in Iraq."

Both Deck and Malott agree that working on a program like this makes them better people.

"I don't know if it makes me a better medic, but it makes me a better person," Malott said. "Every day I see American Soldiers, they are men and women between the ages of 18 and 40. Out there, I saw kids and the elderly. We don't get to see kids and the elderly here. I saw what poverty does to a people. Since going out there the first time, I have seen pride come back into these people, a sense of pride in 'This is my country. ...Now it is like, 'I kicked these guys off my land and got hurt in the process,' and they want to get fixed from that."

This is the last MedCAP 4-6 will provide in Bulayj, setting the stage for the local doctors and IA to work with the people in the area.

"Bulayj is a work in progress," said Montgomery of Philadelphia. "We were able to show the IA how this is done, so they can take it from here. MedCAPs."

All of the pediatric medications provided for the MedCAP were donated by people in the U.S. Adam said the items for children, including toys, school supplies and shoes were all donated by people he has never met.

The other medications were supplies from the MiTT specifically for MedCAP programs.

"Iraqis are no different than Americans, they want stability," said Adam. "We want the piece of mind that our children can walk the streets without bad guys hurting them. Iraqis want the same thing."

All of the teams involved agree that this was a successful mission. They were able to treat patients and continue to earn the trust of the Iraqi people. A trust, said Montgomery, that pays huge dividends when an Iraqi civilian picks up the phone to call about illegal activity in their area.

"It was a successful MedCAP," said Adam. "We are gaining trust and I think we are doing some pretty good healthcare. I am proud of my medics, they did a great job."

• Date Taken: 04.03.2008
• Date Posted: 04.03.2008 15:37
• Story ID: 18044
• Location: IQ