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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan medical professionals have teamed up with Korean doctors and nurses in Bagram to provide much needed and free care to Afghans throughout the region.
The hospital, which sees patients Sunday through Thursday, used to be a just another small building and has seen many changes since it was first created.
“The biggest change in this hospital is that before, it was a clinic,” said Kazem Kazemi, a nurse who has been working here since 2008. “Now its changed into a big and modern hospital. Before we would check between 40 and 60 patients, now we check more than 120 patients daily.”
It is not just the hospital size that has changed. The staff has seen more Afghans being employed here and obtains new medical equipment regularly.
“We’ve seen many improvements in this hospital,” said Kazemi. “Our doctors’ skills are getting better and our equipment changes every year. We get new equipment from the American hospital [Craig hospital is also based at Bagram] and the Korean government.”
This ever-evolving facility has given many Afghans better access to modern medicine, equipment and most importantly, well-trained medical staff.
“We have been witness to some advances and the evolution of health services and activities here, especially in this hospital,” said Dr. Mohammed Musa Musli, a two year veteran of the facility.”
The positive changes this hospital is bringing about are evident in the amount of care and help the staff can provide to the Afghan patients. Most obvious is the fact that there are not many modern medical facilities nearby.
“As we are living in our society, we see that people with a simple problem have to go to Kabul or other big cities to get treatment,” Musli explained. “Most people are too poor to go to private clinics or to other big hospitals, so the presence of this hospital is a very big help, especially for the poor [Afghans] who cannot afford to pay for their healthcare…it’s a very good hospital for our people.”
To ensure cultural sensitivities are taken into account, the hospital has separate days for women and men. Children may be seen all days.
Feb. 27 was a female patient day. Shortly after the patients were screened at a security checkpoint, an Afghan woman brought in her 5-year-old daughter with severe burns. The child was in agony as the doctors and nurses were forced to hold her down on the examination table to clean her wounds to prevent infection. Sterile dressings were applied to her torso and legs after being cleaned. Throughout the process, the child’s mother tried to keep her daughter calm. Once the wounds were cleaned and dressed, staff members gave the child a stuffed animal and other gifts to try and cheer her up after the ordeal.
Most importantly, the team of doctors and nurses attending to the young child were both Afghan and Korean, working together.
“We have many burn patients,” said Dr. Moon-Jun Sohn, the hospital director, who is also a neurosurgeon from Inje University Hospital. “The dressings are very important. Last year we had two specialists taking care of burn injuries. The primary clinic cannot provide sterile environments.”
Patients have been known to travel from far and wide and in all types of weather, to be seen at the hospital. Feb. 28 was no exception. As the snow began to blanket the ground around Bagram, there were several women, children and families braving the harsh morning weather. As each individual was searched by security forces and then scanned into the biometrics database, the line slowly dwindled and the lobby began to fill.
“We receive patients with several different ailments,” said Musli, who personally attends to about 30 patients each day.
Musli believes that the addition of the hospital has been invaluable to the treatment of patients.
“This hospital has very good facilities,” he said. “There are more medications and better equipment, but other facilities are very low and limited outside [the area]. Here we can perform many necessary tests and exams for our patients.”
The Korean-funded hospital not only treats Afghans, but educates them, as well.
“For Aghans, their medical [system] isn’t well established right now,” said Sohn. “This hospital is modernly equipped and they get opportunity to work here, and we constantly do educational programs.”
While educating the local doctors and nurses on equipment, procedures and overall medical practices, the desire to help never takes a back seat for the staff.
Dr. Safiullah Sahebi, a dentist at the hospital, is more than happy to be working here and helping in any way that he can.
“Six or seven months ago I wasn’t able to work in my field because I was with a different organization,” he said. “I’m very happy to in my field at this hospital. I’m very happy to cure my [fellow] Afghan people, but I will help all people. It doesn’t matter to me if he is an American, a Korean or an Afghan, it is not important to me.”
Nurse Kazemi agrees, “The best part is helping people.”
For Afghans to help their fellow Afghans, they must in be in positions that allow them to do so. The hospital at Bagram has found a way to let Afghans play the important role they need by hiring them onto the staff.
“The total number of local Afghans [working] here is more than 30, including doctors,” said Musli. “And there have been very good training programs. We have been given lectures by Korean doctors and professors and in the future we hope that we can continue these studying programs to benefit from their knowledge and experience.”
Sohn hopes this teamwork and education can continue as the hospital becomes more advanced.
“For Afghans, their medical [system] isn’t well established right now,” explained Sohn. “This hospital is modernly equipped and they get the opportunity to work here and we constantly do educational programs. We are going to hire more Afghan staff and three more Korean staff to help increase our capabilities.”
Although looking to gain more medical facilities, the hospital is by no means behind the times or left wanting for patients.
“Out there, there are many Afghan patients who have chance to go to the hospital, especially the poorer people,” said Sohn. “So the healthcare delivery system is good for them.
“[But] we only have five Korean doctors, three Afghan doctors and a couple volunteers…we can’t take care of all medical fields for Afghans.”
Sohn went on to explain that while the hospital cannot meet the needs of every single patient, the staff do what they can with what they have, including biopsies.
“Last year we performed some breast mass biopsies and we sent the samples to the Kabul hospital pathology lab for tests. The primary clinic just cannot provide the [necessary] sterile environment.”
To ensure that Afghan and Korean medical professionals maintain a working relationship, Sohn hopes to create a system of networks that keeps everyone working together. This includes the Kabul city hospital and Afghan doctors throughout the area.
Because the Korean hospital offers free healthcare, Sohn does not want the Afghan medical system to suffer. To keep a balance between the two and to ensure the hospital does not overflow with patients, he would like to see a relationship developed between the two.
“Now we are trying to change our registration system to use the Afghan health system,” said Sohn. “We are going to open 10 clinics so Afghan doctors can make references to transfer [patients] to this hospital. We [will] try and incorporate their system using this project for the Afghan people.”
With plans being made for the future of both the Korean hospital and the Afghan health system, changes are being implemented for the better. The combination of professionalism and modern facilities has proved to make big a difference in this area.
“The current government asked our hospital to start this project,” said Sohn. “Because I’m a doctor I cannot donate anything, but I can use my medical skills to help somebody, and here it’s the Afghan people.”
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2011 12:04 |
| Story ID: | 66788 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 592 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Afghans and Koreans make a difference at Bagram hospital, by SSG Brandon Pomrenke, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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