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Youngstown medical team provides care in Dominican Republic

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Bob Barko Jr.
  • 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
AZUA, Dominican Republic --  The Dominican Republic is a country of contrast.

On one end of this island nation, sandy white beaches , crystal blue waters, lush rolling mountains and other destinations such as the capital city of Santo Domingo or the tourist destination of Punta Cana entice visitors.

On the opposite side, countless villages and towns filled with corrugated tin shacks and small concrete open-air hovels dot the landscape. Despite this poverty, many of the people seem content living their lives day by day.

The "other side" of the Dominican Republic was the destination for a group of more than 30 Citizen Airmen from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio. They arrived April 26 and plan to stay until May 8.

They aren't there to work on their tans or shop. Instead, these reservists from the 910th Medical Squadron and other units will take part in the Dominican Republic Medical Readiness Training Exercise 2009. During the MEDRETE, they will offer their medical expertise to care for residents in and around two neighborhoods in the town of Azua and one neighborhood in the town of Padre Las Casas.

MEDRETEs help develop and cultivate better relations with other nations by providing culturally aware, linguistically competent health care experts. In some cases, the people receiving health care have never gotten basic health care before. In the process, the Air Force reservists gain invaluable training by serving people in need.

Maj. (Dr.) Michael Keller, a 910th Medical Squadron reservist and an emergency room doctor at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio, said the training reservists receive on a MEDRETE will carry over into their civilian jobs as well.

"What I learn on this mission, I then bring back to the community and I think that enhances my capabilities (to treat my patients)," said Major Keller.

Major Keller was a family care specialist during the mission. His team included an in-processing triage team, dental care and eye care specialists, and a full pharmacy staff.

The MEDRETE team set up operations on fenced-enclosed school campuses in the towns where they were working. These pre-selected sites allowed the Dominican army to provide crowd control for the caregivers and let the team use the classrooms to set up individual areas for their sections of care.

Augmenting the Youngstown Airmen were reservists from 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pa., as well as a specialist from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. and a specialist from Hill AFB, Utah.

Trip planners expected the team to treat more than 1,000 patients a day during the 10-day mission. They anticipated 500 patients the first day and 800 patients the second day in the small Dominican town of Azua. Actually, the MEDRETE team saw more than 600 patients on the first day and more than 900 patients on the second day in Azua. By third day in the small Dominican town, the group saw more than 1,200 patients during the nine-hour workday.

"It's impressive. They all really came together as a team. It was hard to tell who had been working with each other in Youngstown for years and who hadn't," said Col. Ronnie Roberts, 910th Medical Squadron commander and MEDRETE mission commander.

Maj. Patrick Lanaghan, 910th Medical Squadron medical science officer was in charge of much of the mission pre-planning and the effort to try to consider every contingency seemed to be paying off. Although the climate in Azua is very different from that of northeast Ohio, Maj. Lanaghan noted that after some adjustment, the team was good to go.

"Coming down from Youngstown, we weren't prepared for the heat and humidity but we are doing well," said Major Lanaghan." We are drinking lots of water and taking care of each other. We are making sure everyone is staying hydrated."

One major challenge facing the team was the language barrier between mostly English-speaking caregivers and mostly Spanish-speaking patients. Other concerns were the security and health of the providers. The mission would suffer drastically if team members fell ill or were harmed in any way. As a result, everything from the purchase of cases of bottled water to an armed escort of more than 15 Dominican army soldiers to securing as many translators as possible was considered and put into place.

Although the team put in long, exhausting days, working in temperatures around the 90-degree mark with 90 percent humidity, the satisfaction of treating patients ranging from a 26-day-old infant to a woman reportedly 120 years old seemed to be a common thread among the MEDRETE team members.

"It just boils down to what this person needs and how can I help this person. It's a joy. It's really great," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Christopher Rugaber, an eye care specialist and a veteran of several Youngstown MEDRETEs.

Col. Larry Woods, a Citizen Airman who works as a civilian cardiovascular specialist and intensive care doctor at Trumbull Memorial Hospital, was equally impressed by the team and the Dominican residents seeking the rarely available medical care.

"(The MEDRETE team members) are working their hearts away to try and provide the (most) amount of care they can give in such a short amount of time, and the Dominican people are just all grateful. You have to see it to believe it," said Colonel Woods.

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Rodney Waite, a dental care specialist, said his section is seeing 100 to 150 patients per day.

"We're seeing a lot of patients. Each will require a (tooth) extraction or two, so we have been pretty busy," said Colonel Waite.

The team has been treating all types of ailments - vitamin deficiencies, dermatitis, skin infections, heart and lung problems, parasite infestations, a variety of eye problems and tooth decay as well as oral infections due to the lack of preventative dental care. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)