Photo By Luis Delgadillo | Maj. Deidre Stoffregen, from Silver Spring, Md., a veterinarian with the 3rd Infantry...... read more read more
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Sgt. Luis Delgadillo, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
HAWR RAJAB, Iraq – Coalition forces met with an Iraqi veterinarian in Hawr Rajab, Feb. 26, to discuss the state of the region's farm animal care system.
The visit is a part of Maj. Deidre Stoffregen's assessments of farm animal health and Iraqi veterinarians' capacity to treat farm animals in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division area of operation.
Stoffregen is a veterinarian assigned to the 3rd Inf. Div. from Army Medical Materiel Research Command, where she is a pathology researcher.
During the visit to Hawr Rajab, Stoffregen met with a female veterinarian, Dr. Adawea Kataa Kalefa, a graduate of Baghdad University who has been practicing medicine for more than 27 years, 17 of those years in Hawr Rajab.
Kalefa now practices medicine privately with the assistance of her husband and 20-year-old daughter. She occasionally works for the government of Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture.
Kalefa's lavishly green front yard was a stark contrast to the bullet-riddled visage of her large home, which served as a reminder of past conflicts in her neighborhood.
Face to face, Stoffregen in 'full battle rattle' and Kalefa in her medical coat, discussed how coalition resources could be used to better equip private practice vet clinics.
"She's a pretty sharp individual," said Stoffregen of her counterpart.
When asked about where she worked in the past, Kalefa said she had worked at the government-run veterinarian clinic in al Buaytha, seven kilometers east of Hawr Rajab.
Kalefa said she left the facility after she and her 19 colleagues were harassed by al-Qaida insurgents who threatened them prior to the arrival of Coalition forces.
Despite the threats, one veterinarian who lives near the facility stayed close and continued to provide care for citizens of the region through his private practice. Kalefa told Stoffregen the man who lives in al Buaytha, Adel, was one of her peers from the clinic. After the clinic shut its doors, both medical professionals went their separate ways but continued providing vet services for farmers in their respective communities.
Just one day prior, Stoffregen and members of the Baghdad-7 embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team had visited the al Buaytha facility and met with Najim Jhbar Abed Al-Sada.
Al-Sada gave Stoffregen a tour of the facility and described the capabilities of the clinic prior to its closing.
In another twist of fate, Stoffregen related to Kalefa the news that a former professor of hers at Baghdad University now serves as the bilingual-bicultural adviser for veterinary medicine at Multi-National Corps – Iraq.
During the hour-long discussion, the two put together a plan of action through which Kalefa could request items and services she needed in order to expand services offered to her customers. One need was repairs for her vehicle, used to conduct farm calls.
While the MoA vet clinic is a concern to Stoffregen, she says coalition forces are more concerned with the re-establishment of private practice clinics.
"We're looking at the private side and we're trying to get them up and running again and providing services to the community," Stoffregen said.
In both meetings with Iraqi veterinarians, Stoffregen identified the needs of their private practice ventures and instructed them to compile a list of equipment and medical supplies needed in order to improve their services. The lists will be submitted to coalition forces and the items will be assessed to see if they would be readily available for purchase by coalition troops or if funds could be given to the doctors.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2008 09:18 |
| Story ID: | 16868 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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