Photo By Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings | A Salvadoran family concludes a medical appointment during a community health event in...... read more read more
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SANTA ANA, El Salvador -- U.S. Air Force, Canadian Armed Forces and Salvadoran health professionals provided medical services to community members in Santa Ana, El Salvador on June 24 as part of AMISTAD 2025.
AMISTAD, which means “friendship” in Spanish, is an Air Forces Southern-led initiative involving Global Health Engagements. These missions deliver direct patient care across Latin America, with the goal of improving healthcare access and building partner nations’ healthcare capacity.
More than 30 U.S. and Canadian military health professionals treated 127 patients during the community event, which was hosted by the Salvadoran Army’s 2nd Infantry Brigade. They also dispensed over 700 prescriptions to 155 patients.
“The outreach [event] provided significant benefits to the patients by offering free medical examinations, evaluations, dental cleanings, extractions and prescriptions for both adults and children,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Sara Bernal, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron 4N functional manager. “Collaborating with the Salvadoran military allowed our Airmen to adapt quickly and work cohesively as a team, ensuring the mission’s success and delivering quality care for the local community.”
Each doctor and technician performing specialized care faced unique challenges, treating many patients who did not speak English and operating in an environment with limited access to equipment and resources.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Burkart, a flight surgeon with the 916 Aerospace Medicine Squadron, described treating an elderly patient with a post-surgical wound.
“Following his surgery at a hospital earlier in the week, he had developed a new wound which was open and needed treatment,” Burkhart said. “With a lot of teamwork with local Salvadoran healthcare professionals, we were able to irrigate his wound with saline, clean it again with chlorhexidine, apply another antibiotic topical cream and then dress it. We were able to provide him with needed antibiotics and a path forward for his wounds to heal.”
Despite the challenges the service members faced, the experience provided fulfillment through the care they were able to provide.
“This is my second year working on the AMISTAD mission, and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had,” Bernal said. “The best part is being able to connect with the community and provide medical and dental care that they might not have access to otherwise. Seeing their smiles and genuine appreciation is something that stays with you. It gives the whole mission a deeper meaning and makes all the hard work completely worth it.”
Engagements like this community event showcase the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with the Americas, and each military health professional contributed to that longstanding commitment.
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.30.2025 20:13 |
| Story ID: | 501789 |
| Location: | SANTA ANA, SV |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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