Photo By Sgt. Robert Baumgartner | Maj. Brian Krakover, deputy surgeon of the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, intubates an...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD, Iraq – The "busiest emergency room in the world" has been playing host to medics from the 82nd Sustainment Brigade the past few months, affording the young care providers a wealth of invaluable experiences. With these experiences come another asset invaluable to the combat medic; confidence.
The 28th Combat Support Hospital, nicknamed "Cash" by acronym-loving American soldiers but known to everyone else as the "Baghdad ER," is located in the heart of the teeming International Zone.
"It is designed to rapidly treat and perform damage control surgery. Basically, to stop major organ bleeding," said U.S. Army Maj. Brian Krakover, deputy surgeon of the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, and one of the trauma surgeons working at the Cash.
The hospital's location, combined with a roster of Army doctors that includes trauma, orthopedic, and general surgeons, make it the destination for nearly 14,000 traumatic injury patients a year. In other words, the perfect place for junior 82nd SB medics to get the necessary experience to make them a well-rounded care provider, said Krakover.
"In the 82nd Sustainment Brigade our business is pushing convoys on the roads. The enemy has decided to fight us there with improvised explosive devices. Nowhere in Iraq are you seeing more IEDs than the Baghdad area," Krakover said.
So why send field medics to this hospital environment?
"It's sort of like when [infamous bank robber] Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he said 'because that's where the money is'. Well, if you want to learn how to take care of these types of injuries, you have to go where the injuries are happening," Krakover continued.
Staff Sgt. Carlington Hewitt, a medic and the platoon sergeant for the medical platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Sustainment Brigade is one of the last to do the 30-day rotation. He has seen the difference in his young soldiers who complete the rotation.
"For a lot of my soldiers, this is their first duty assignment. They don't have a lot of real world experience. Here, they get a chance to apply what they've learned and when they leave the hospital, they come away with a lot more confidence," Hewitt said.
"When the new medic sees a soldier who's had both legs amputated by an IED, the first thing they are going to do is get right to work and stop the bleeding. They are not going to get freaked out because of all the blood and shouting," Krakover said.
For Hewitt, the medics who are assigned to the 28th CSH make the perfect coworkers and trainers for both himself and his soldiers.
"I have had a chance to have one-on-one discussions with the other medics here, and they are just on it, I mean pinpoint. They work great as a team, they know each other's jobs... it's just amazing to watch them and even more amazing to pick up and integrate into this system," Hewitt said.
Fortunately the 82nd SB medics do not get a chance to hone their skills while at their home base Camp Adder. Pfc. Nichole Conard, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd SB, completed the one-month rotation prior to Hewitt's arrival. The 23-year old Conard is self-effacing considering the responsibility they 82nd SB medics have taken on.
"Sitting around here, we really don't get a chance to do our jobs. This is a good thing, because it means if we are not doing our jobs than people aren't getting hurt. But things will happen, especially in war, so we want to be as ready and experienced as possible when things go downhill,"
While they may not be providing real-life trauma care on a regular basis while at Camp Adder, their skills remain sharp by teaching a combat lifesaving course to fellow service members. The CLS course has received enough adulation that US Air Force and Romanian Army commanders have enrolled their service members for certification. But when the training day is over, hardcore professionals like Conard are left longing for something more.
"While training fellow soldiers in necessary combat lifesaving skills is rewarding, working at the 28th CSH is a medic's paradise," Conard said.
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.15.2007 15:31 |
| Story ID: | 10845 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 2,042 |
| Downloads: | 533 |
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