Photo By Staff Sgt. Anthony White | Two local Iraqis put the finishing touches on the wiring of an air conditioner at the...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Tony White
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SAMARRA, Iraq— The delivery of 15 air conditioners to a hospital in the United States would not garner headline attention, and it may not earn much ink in a local Iraqi paper, but it will ease the pain and suffering at the largest Iraqi medical facility in Samarra, Iraq.
Medical officials at the Samarra Hospital received 15 new air conditioners Monday from Coalition Forces. While the air conditioners may be a visible improvement for the hospital and will lessen the number of heat casualties during hot summer months, they only provide a solution to one of many problems facing the hospital.
The biggest problem in Samarra is that it's nearly impossible to get medical re-supply through official channels.
The system currently in place for medical re-supply is a work in progress, said Sgt. 1st Class Juan Almonte, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment medical platoon sergeant. Logistical issues have forced Samarra medical officials to look elsewhere for supplies, with doctors often opting for black-market medicine readily available from street vendors.
"They buy their medications from the streets in the city of Samarra," Almonte said. "The local vendors are aware of (the shortages) and have tried to help as much as they can. Actually according to the doctors, the medications are inexpensive there. The bottom line is they still need those supplies."
While going through the local vendors may not seem like a good idea, the hospital felt it was the best option at hand considering the difficulties getting supplies from Tikrit-area institutions, which are also dealing with the same problem.
"We are not authorized to give them medical supplies, but we are supposed to enable them to run their own system," said Almonte, a native of New York City. "Unfortunately it doesn't always work out the way it should.
"When they have a request they are supposed to call up through their leadership channel, up to Tikrit, (Iraq)," he said. "The issue is they do not have the means, whether it is vehicles or personnel, to get the supplies brought down from there to the Samarra Hospital."
The medical supply shortage has caused several outbreaks of diseases throughout the city. Recently, hospital officials faced a moderate case of the rabies virus among local children.
"If a little kid pokes an animal and the animal bites the kid, he has to come in." Almonte said. "Unfortunately they have had a few children pass away due to rabies. They don't have the access to the medication and or vaccination. That was thing they requested of us."
Since arriving this past August, Almonte has visited the hospital three times. Having past experience working in a hospital, Almonte said these doctors are trying to do all they can with whatever supplies they can obtain.
"They do some things that we would say are unorthodox," Almonte said. "We have all of this technology and they don't. Even if they had the technology, they don't have means to maintain it.
"They do practice semi-street medicine," he continued. "They may reuse a couple things, but they have to. But the medicine is still effective and there is not too much a difference there. The only difference from where we are and where they are here is that they have to work with the means that they have."
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2007 09:28 |
| Story ID: | 9130 |
| Location: | SAMARRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 126 |
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