Atar hospital gets a checkup

Photo By Africom Pao | U.S. Air Force Capt. Mohammed Diallo, interpreter and critical care nurse from Walter Reed Hospital, left, translates for Dr. Abdoullah Ould Hmeyade, Centre Hospitalier D’ Atar director, and U.S. Air Force Capt. Brandy Sande, physician assistant from U.S. Air Forces Africa, center; following a hospital check at the hospital Sept. 2, 2014, as part of the African Partnership Flight in Atar, Mauritania. The team is assigned to the APF as the medical support team, but took an opportunity to check on the local hospital and to meet with the staff. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Brian Boisvert/Released)  

ATAR, MAURITANIA

09.02.2014

Story by Africom Pao 

U.S. Africa Command

ATAR, Mauritania – During a break in African Partnership Mauritania classes, a small team of U.S. Air Force medics visited a local civilian hospital Sept. 2, 2014, to conduct routine health and safety inspections.

Primarily assigned to support the APF Mauritania mission, the team used some down time to complete a secondary objective - inspecting local medical facilities that serve the Mauritanian military forces and opening up dialogue between the local medical staff and the U.S. to increase future interoperability.

The small team consisted of U.S. Air Force Capt. Brandy Sande, physician assistant from U.S. Air Forces Africa; U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Marrow, flight nurse from the 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; and U.S. Air Force Capt. Mohammed Diallo, critical care nurse from Walter Reed Hospital and the interpreter for the team.

“We came here to see what capabilities this hospital had and how we could learn from each other,” said Morrow. “This is a very impressive hospital, and it offers more capability that I could have imagined.”

Dr. Abdoullah Ould Hmeyade, CentreHospitalier D’Atar director, guided the team and provided a full access tour of the hospital's operating rooms, X-ray facility, emergency services and three ambulances, laboratory and maternity ward.

The hospital, which was built in 1958, receives and treats more than 150 patients a day and can keep up to 55 medical/surgical patients in the inpatient ward. It offers a pharmacy, isolation room, medical claim assistance and can provide dental, routine clinic treatment and immunizations.

I am honored to be able to host you and welcome your team into my hospital,” said Hmeyade. “It is my hope that we can build a strong partnership with the U.S. hospitals, and I would welcome an invitation for a member of my team to be hosted at a hospital in the U.S. to learn from the best and if we could host one of your physicians here, we would be honored.”

“The main goal of this visit was for us to assess the capabilities of this facility and to open a communication partnership where we will be able to exchange knowledge,” said Sande. “Dr. Hmeyade was very gracious in taking his time to host us during this visit and I look forward to possible communication in the future.”

APF Mauritania is a classroom learning environment where students from Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia learn about Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, in addition to, ground and flight safety and air command operations from U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Force Africa Airmen as well as Air Mobility Command instructors.

• Date Taken: 09.02.2014
• Date Posted: 09.02.2014 16:55
• Story ID: 140985
• Location: ATAR, MR