Photo By Lance Cpl. Jason Hernandez | Sgt. Shawn Gurley (right), lead instructor for the Nursing Education Department aboard...... read more read more
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AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – In a time of conflict and in a land very far from the luxuries of home, men and women like Army Col. Linda K. Connelly, deputy commander of nursing for the 345th Combat Support Hospital Task Force, are not only fighting to keep service members safe and healthy, but Iraqi civilians as well.
Since their arrival in April 2008, the 345th CSH has taken responsibility for the health needs of not only Al Asad Air Base, but also the city of Tikrit. In December, their area of operations was extended to include the town of Mosul in an effort to better assist the people of Iraq and the service members serving with Multi-National Force - West.
These activities are in addition to their normal responsibilities of ensuring that all emergency medical technicians, surgery room staffs, and clinic personnel are up to date on their certifications and that not only do they retain their medical skills, but also improve them with regular advancement training.
"We're ensuring that all of our staff and even non-medical personnel on base have the training they need to save lives," said Maj. Linda S. Fleming, officer in charge of the Clinical Education Department with the CSH. "We've already trained over 500 combat lifesavers, and logged in over 4,000 hours of continued education time in the 10 months we've been here."
In an effort to keep service members ready for any eventuality, the clinic also instructs basic and advanced courses on cardiac life support in addition to the Combat Life Saver course.
Currently, CSH elements are pushing to provide not only nursing assistance, but laying out the groundwork for Iraqi hospitals to begin their own nurse training programs to ensure that sick and injured Iraqi citizens can continue to receive the best possible care available after American troops withdraw.
Other plans to assist the Iraqi medical community include the distribution of Arabic language textbooks on medicine and medical procedures for Iraqi medical staffs and CD-ROM based medical courses.
"We've not only provided them with text books," said Connelly. "But we've also given them a series of CDs on neonatal life-support as well as cardiac emergency courses, both basic and advanced."
The unit, comprised of soldiers from nearly 45 different states, has in their 10 months in Iraq not only assisted the civilian and military population across parts of the Anbar province, but has also spared nursing personnel to send to Baghdad, Ballad Air Base and Tallil Air Base, and established electronic documenting so caretakers can observe previous nursing observations and comments on new patients.
As the conflict in Iraq continues to slow, the CSH is dealing less with combat-related injuries and more with illnesses and sports injuries. Part of the solution for handling this has been a series of health fairs.
"We try to promote health and wellness aboard Al Asad as much as possible," said Connelly. "We're holding health fairs to keep them as informed and prepared as possible."
The fairs cover a variety of subjects, from what supplements are available at the Post Exchange to sexually transmitted diseases, what insects are dangerous and what foods are healthier to eat at base dining facilities.
As their deployment winds down, the men and women of the 345th CSH are keeping the service members aboard Multi-National Force - West and the civilians that depend on them healthy today and teaching them how to continue the effort many tomorrows from now.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2009 02:32 |
| Story ID: | 31419 |
| Location: | AL ASAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 364 |
| Downloads: | 273 |
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