Navy Paktika PRT health care provider saves lives

Photo By Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester | U.S. Navy Lt. J.g. Vince Lopez, Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team medical officer, prepares to go on a recent mission to review the health care demands and capabilities of Sharana province. Paktika PRT is a joint team whose mission is to help legitimize the government of Afghanistan through development, governance and agricultural initiatives. Lopez is deployed from Naval Clinic, Patuxent River, Md. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester)  

03.24.2010

Story by 1st Lt. Mark Lazane 

International Security Assistance Force HQ Public Affairs

By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Mark Lazane

SHARANA, Afghanistan--Third world conditions, high post-surgery infection rates, and less money.

Sounds like a recipe for success to one healthcare provider in Afghanistan.

"The PRT mission is difficult at times and there are definitely obstacles to overcome," said Lt. j.g. Vincent "Doc" Lopez, a Physician Assistant from Phoenix, Ariz. and the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team medical officer. "But with help from the dedicated Afghan people, little by little, we can provide them with stability and improve their quality of life."

The mission of the Paktika PRT is to assist in the stabilization and security of Paktika province, a large province located on the eastern Afghan border near the Pakistan tribal areas. However, rather than going out and actively combating insurgent activity, the PRT focuses on other causes of instability, chiefly: healthcare, development, governance and agriculture initiatives.

The PRT is a collection of military and interagency partners who help provide the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the tools necessary to provide for the long-term needs of the provincial population.

Lopez's job is, first and foremost, to take care of the roughly 100 military and civilian members of PRT Paktika and ensure that they are mission-capable every day.

That part of his job is easy. To perform those duties, Lopez relies on his world-class medical training and his collection of paramedics, or "corpsmen" in Navy-speak, to ensure the sailors, soldiers and airmen on the team are as healthy as possible.

Lopez's second role with the PRT is to assist the Afghan government in improving the quality and quantity of healthcare for the citizens of Paktika province.

It is this role that is new to Lopez.

Under his watch, the medical directors in the young provincial government are mentored and guided to eventually become expert public health directors.

No one would blame Lopez if he wasn't in his current position. It's not like he hasn't already served his country.

After all, Lopez spent several years as an active duty enlisted sailor, serving first with the United States Navy Presidential Honor Guard for two years then attending Hospital Corpsman "A" School and Field Medical Service School at Camp Lejeune, N.C., to become a fully-qualified corpsman.

Five years later, Lopez accepted an honorable discharge to fulfill his dream of being a physician's assistant. He attended Stanford University, earning a Physician Assistant's degree and a degree in Business Administration.

Following graduation, he moved back to his hometown of Phoenix and started working as a Physician's Assistant in an orthopaedic surgery clinic.

Life seemed to be good for Lopez, his wife Regina and their three sons.

And indeed it was. For five years, Lopez worked as a civilian Physician's Assistant where the money was good and job satisfaction was high.

But Lopez knew that his gift of providing top-notch medical care could be put to even greater use.

It was at this point that Lopez sought to realize yet another dream he had: becoming a Navy officer.

So back into the blue Lopez jumped. Ten years after leaving the military, Lopez began his second career, or maybe even his third, depending on how you look at. This time he was finally a Navy officer.

Less than two years later, Lopez was given his current assignment in Paktika province.

"I wanted to be a Navy officer," said Lopez. "I wanted to come to Afghanistan. I knew I'd deploy. That's why I signed up, I knew there were people I'd be able to help and I wanted to help them."

With medical facilities and equipment often in short supply in the province, basic medical care for citizens can be problematic.

"We have good healthcare for the facilities and equipment that we have," said Dr. Ahmad Baseer, the Public Health Adviser for Paktika province and a surgeon by trade.

"The problem is we lack a lot of the specialty services that hospitals in Kabul and other places have. With the limited facilities and equipment, as well as the lower wages, it's difficult to recruit doctors, especially specialists, to come practice here."

It's the sort of situation that can frustrate even the most optimistic volunteer.

Do not count Lopez among the detractors.

"The medical situation in this province is coming along quite nicely, actually," Lopez says.

"If we can increase the amount of health care workers in the province, provide increased medical facilities and increase the amount medical providers are paid, we can significantly help the health care system of this province."

If the various things working against him seem to be overwhelming, Lopez simply tries to find positives amid the slow progression.

"Measuring success can be difficult to do here," said Lopez. "I measure my success directly from comments from my troops as well as comments from medical providers around the province. If they feel more capable of performing their job, then I know I am doing mine correctly."

• Date Taken: 03.24.2010
• Date Posted: 03.24.2010 21:52
• Story ID: 47171