Photo By Sgt. Atticus Martinez | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Emilio Valladares, a biomedical equipment technician...... read more read more
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KOROR, REPUBLIC OF PALAU - He’s been called the MacGyver of Task Force Koa Moana. Except he’s from New York instead of California, and his name isn’t MacGyver — It’s Emilio Valladares, a Sailor with the U.S. Navy.
But those differences haven’t stopped him from accomplishing his mission and impressing everyone around him with his creativity — from fixing X-ray machines to sterilizers — he’s fixed it all.
Valladares, a petty officer 2nd class serving as a biomedical equipment technician, has been working with the staff of the Belau National Hospital in Koror, Republic of Palau, fixing equipment, assembling items and exchanging ideas and methods for the betterment of both parties.
His work ethic and creativity have not gone unnoticed.
“I have labeled him the ‘MacGyver’ due to his ability to solve equipment shortages or defects by reusing scrap pieces to render items to full functionality,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Pamela Rakoski, the task force surgeon. “Valladares has shown great initiative and superb problem solving skills with what he has had access to here in Palau.”
Valladares’ training and expertise have continued to strengthen and improve the host nation’s biomedical procedures. He spends a majority of his work day at the hospital speaking with the staff and bouncing ideas off one another creating a mass of innovation.
“Working with Emilio, I’ve learned that there are many ways to accomplish work,” said Alben Adelbai, biomedical technician specialist at the Belau National Hospital. “For example, where we’re actually very limited with tools and materials, he was able to identify what items we can use as parts of our repairs for our work.”
These daily interactions and exchanges have helped him build trust with the hospital staff and the leadership of the task force.
“His relationship with the hospital staff is excellent, and he has built a level of trust that has been seen by his invitations to be involved in their conversations for future planner recommendations on space and equipment within the hospital,” said Rakoski.
For Valladares, who has served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, these sort of interactions are a daily occurrence.
“On a day to day basis with them, we’ll be putting together medical equipment like we are today,” said Valladares. “They'll bounce ideas off of me on how to increase the efficiency of their oxygen plant or how to fumigate a hood.”
Valladares has not been alone in his endeavors. During the exchange, he has worked closely with Alben Adelbai, a biomedical technician specialist with the Belau National Hospital. Together, they have tackled several projects together, saving the hospital thousands.
A significant repair was on an X-ray handle that was diagnosed as very delicate, broken and had to be handled very lightly. The handle was used nearly everyday to move the machine around when doing scans on people, which made it a priority for repair.
However, the cost of the item was prohibitively high. That didn’t stop Valladares or Adelbai.
“One X-ray handle, that’s about four or five grand,” said Adelbai.
Having no money and limited equipment is just the recipe for a biomedical technician’s success.
“They have that spirit of a Biomed; wants to do everything and wants to get their hands dirty,” said Valladares. “So I look at them, and it's like, ‘OK, they work with nothing. I can work with nothing. They can do it. I can do it’ and they look at me the same way.”
Together, the two biomedical technicians created a brace for the back of an X-ray handle, cutting, sawing, drilling, sanding, and painting it to make it a usable piece of equipment. Within a few weeks, they had a new, working handle.
“He’s saved us not just money, but time,” Adelbai said.
The X-ray machine was just one of many pieces of equipment that Valladares has worked on, with more to come over the duration of the task force’s time in the Republic of Palau. And while that time will come to a close for Task Force Koa Moana 21, Valladares hopes future task force Koa Moana’s will have opportunities for biomed technicians to work with their partners from other countries.
“I really hope every time that there’s a Koa Moana, a biomed will go out,” said Valladares. “Because it’s an amazing opportunity not only for the Palauans, but for the biomed themselves to see a different kind of environment and see a biomed, that has the same title as you, it gives you a different perspective”
Task Force Koa Moana is designed to strengthen and enhance relationships between the U.S. and partner nations/states in the Indo-Pacific Region while remaining COVID-19 safe. Task Force Koa Moana 21 has the unique opportunity and privilege of working with the Republic of Palau as a sign of the U.S. commitment to the people of Palau and its partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific Region.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2021 07:15 |
| Story ID: | 405369 |
| Location: | PW |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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