Photo By Maj. Joseph Simms | United States Coast Guard Heath Service Technician Third Class Annice Hand (front),...... read more read more
Two medical professionals assigned to the 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base Florida, are part of a joint and multinational contingent currently supporting, Arctic Care 2018, an Innovative Readiness Exercise based out of Kotzebue, Alaska.
Major Vashun Rodriguez, a flight surgeon assigned to the 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, and Captain Roxanne Buffano, an optometrist assigned to the 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, are providing medical and vision care for residents of Northwest Alaska through April 24.
Kotzebue is one of 12 villages in the Maniilaq Service Area receiving care through the efforts of Reserve Citizen Airmen participating in Arctic Care 2018. To serve the outlying villages, providers such as Rodriguez and Buffano were transported via UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to communities where many residents have not seen a medical professional in years.
“A few days ago, we flew into a remote village 83 miles above the Arctic Circle named Kivalina, where there typically is no provider throughout the year," said Rodriguez. “If a resident here has an issue, they would need to be flown out to the nearest medical facility where they are evaluated, and if they need further treatment, they would need another trip to Anchorage or a location with a larger medical facility.”
Over the past several days, Rodriguez has treated ailments from a sore throat to broken bones, which would have gone untreated due to the lack of available care in the region. According to Paul Hansen, Hospital Administrator for the Manillaq Association, the major factors preventing the citizens of Northwest Alaska from receiving proper care are transportation costs and manpower.
“The Manillaq Association oversees a region that covers an area about the size of Illinois and access to care is a serious issue,” Hansen said. “There are no roads that connect these communities. The primary means of travel between the villages is by light aircraft or boat in the summer months, and snow machine in the winter, so transportation is very expensive which prevents many citizens from getting proper care.”
“The goal is for each community to provide village-based services, but we do not have the manpower,” he continued.
Serving remote areas such as the Northwest Arctic Borough is the hallmark of IRT exercises. It not only provides a service to U.S. citizens, it enhances the capabilities of our military medical professionals and provides an opportunity to positively impact someone’s life, according to Captain Buffano.
“Our first day here I had the pleasure of examining a 14-year-old boy who had never worn glasses before and it was incredible to see his eyes light up when I showed him how much better his vision could be with glasses,” said Buffano. “Hopefully these children will remember us and the service we are able to provide for them and their community. Then one day they might be able to follow in our footsteps and provide care to their own villages and the surrounding communities.”
IRT exercises in this region, and specifically Arctic Care, continue to build on the long-standing tradition of U.S. Armed Forces addressing the underserved community health and civic needs of the Northwest Arctic Borough.
Both Rodriguez and Buffano are veterans of past IRT exercises, and plan to continue serving remote areas of the U.S. whenever the opportunity arises.
“A child cannot develop and reach their full potential if their world is blurry or they have to live with a correctible medical condition,” Buffano said. “This is why I continue to participate in these missions so I can continue to improve the quality of life for others with limited access to care.“
The Northwest Arctic Borough has hosted IRT exercises in the past, most recently in 2015, and will plan to continue to do so for years to come. Until the day comes that each village is self-sufficient, the villages of Northwest Alaska will continue to rely on Arctic Care exercises and Reserve Citizen Airmen to help fill in the gaps where the Maniilaq Association cannot.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2018 17:32 |
| Story ID: | 273756 |
| Location: | KIVALINA, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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