US service members provide medical care for El Salvadoran citizens in AMISTAD campaign

Published Sept. 6, 2024
By Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton
302nd Airlift Wing

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. --

More than 40 personnel from 15 units across three U.S. military service branches participated in a campaign to augment health services in multiple locations across El Salvador, Aug. 19 to Sep. 6.

Service members supported the AMISTAD campaign by integrating with existing El Salvadoran Ministry of Health services and exchanging knowledge with Salvadoran healthcare professionals while promoting the health and well-being of their nation’s citizens.

"Our purpose here was to deploy medical assistance teams to increase the medical readiness of U.S. forces and strengthen U.S. relationships in El Salvador," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Anthony Boudreau, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron nurse and mission commander for the campaign. "We wanted to exchange knowledge with one another and increase our interoperability with our partner nation."

A group of people in a basketball court with tents in the background receive medical care by U.S. servicemembers. — Three medical technicians with the 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron prepare a group of El Salvadoran citizens for treatment at an outreach clinic at Ilopango, El Salvador, August 26, 2024. The outreach clinic provided El Salvadoran healthcare professionals and U.S. service members the opportunity to work together to promote the health and well-being of El Salvadoran citizens. (U.S. Air Force photos by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A man in U.S. military uniform manipulates a training mannequin while three women in civilian clothes laugh amongst each other. — U.S. Army Captain Bryson Merrill, Brooke Army Medical Care Center family medicine, demonstrated childbirth procedures on an infant with shoulder dystocia during a training scenario at the Instituto Nacional de Salud, San Salvador, El Salvador, August 21, 2024. The training was part of AMISTAD, a campaign promoting collaboration with partner nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

U.S. service members organize boxes in a parking lot. — U.S. service members prepare to deliver supplies to healthcare workers at Our Lady of Fatima National Hospital in Cojutepeque, El Salvador, Aug. 27, 2024. The supplies were delivered in support of the AMISTAD campaign promoting the health and well-being of citizens in Central America. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

During the AMISTAD campaign, U.S. forces from nine medical specialties accomplished more than 1,500 patient actions and delivered $100,000+ in supplies to Hospital San Bartolo, Unidad Familiar de Salud Ilopango, Hospital Cojutepeque, Unidad Familiar de Salud Cojutepeque, Hospital Chalatenango, Unidad de Salud Chalatenango, Hospital El Salvador and surrounding communities. They also delivered equipment and infusion pumps designed to combat the spread of Dengue, a break-bone fever-inducing viral infection that spreads through mosquito bites.

Boxes on pallets labeled with the names of medical supplies sitting on the concrete. — A collection of medical supplies provided by U.S. armed forces sits ready to be distributed to healthcare professionals at the San Bartolo Hospital, El Salvador, August 23, 2024. AMISTAD provides U.S. and El Salvador medical professionals a unique opportunity to work together in resource-constrained environments to the benefit of local citizens. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A woman in U.S. military uniform shakes hands with a doctor in civilian clothes. — U.S. Air Force Capt. Alba Figueroa, 944th Aeromedical Staging Squadron health services administrator, shakes the hand of Dr. Patricia Romero, lead doctor of San Bartolo Hospital, next to a collection of medical supplies provided by the United States armed forces at San Bartolo Hospital, El Salvador, August 23, 2024. AMISTAD provides U.S. and El Salvador medical professionals a unique opportunity to work together in resource-constrained environments to the benefit of local citizens.(U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

During the first week teams augmented emergency departments, mental health clinics, pediatrics wards, optometry sections, and more to support doctors and nurses providing diagnoses and patient treatment.

Additionally, crews supported outreach clinics established during the second week to provide care to citizens in surrounding communities. Service members brought supplies and equipment with them to address the needs of walk-in patients away from the vicinity of established hospitals. They worked with healthcare professionals from the El Salvadoran Ministry of Health every step of the way.

A man in U.S. military uniform holds a stethoscope to a woman's chest. — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Nathaniel Pascual, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron pulmonologist, evaluates an El Salvadoran citizen for treatment at an outreach clinic at Ilopango, El Salvador, August 26, 2024. El Salvadoran healthcare professionals and U.S. service members worked together to provide care for more than 100 walk-in patients. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A woman injects a shot into the arm of a second woman. — Mercedes Lopez, director of the Centro Escolar Gertrudis Lopez Cruz, receives a vaccine during a community outreach event in Chalatenango, El Salvador, Aug. 28, 2024. Lopez allowed the team to use the school as an area to care for walk-in patients during part of the AMISTAD 24 campaign. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A man holds a stethoscope to a child's chest while her mother stands behind her. — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Niyasdeen Dieguez Santiesteban, 482nd Medical Squadron pediatrician, evaluates an El Salvadoran girl for treatment at an outreach clinic at Ilopango, El Salvador, August 26, 2024. El Salvadoran healthcare professionals and U.S. service members worked together to provide care for more than 100 walk-in patients. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

Multiple locations were repurposed to be used as temporary walk-in clinics. Physicians, primary care providers and dentists used available spaces at schoolhouses, basketball courts and more as working areas to write prescriptions, deliver vaccines, treat symptoms and provide dental cleaning services.

Along with providing real-world patient care, knowledge-exchange events were planned so nurses and practitioners from both nations could share best practices in their respective fields.

U.S. servicemembers conducted Advanced Trauma Life Support courses as well as Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics training.

The ATLS course, led by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Andrea Blake, 302 ASTS trauma surgeon, provided attendees with an approach to manage multiply injured patients by quickly assessing their conditions, stabilizing them and preparing them for transport to elevated levels of care. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Adriane Bell, Womack Army Medical Center family medicine faculty, led the ALSO course which educated participants on various methods of delivering a newborn when complications arise during childbirth. The training included hands-on training using mannequins at the Instituto Nacional de Salud.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Diana Trang, 60th Medical Group family medicine faculty, led a training course demonstrating the utility of point-of-care ultrasound technology. Nurses and doctors listened to a classroom training section before training on each other using ultrasound gel and mobile hospital beds.

“We’re here as part of our training with our residents so they can have experience in areas that have different resources than we typically do in the U.S.,” said Trang. “So with this collaboration, I think it’s great we’re able to share our resources with them and compare and contrast the different types of courses that we offer and strengthen both of our healthcare systems.”

A woman in U.S. military uniform points at a screen while applying ultrasound gel to a man's abdomen as he lays in a hospital bed surrounded by men and women in civilian clothes. — U.S. Navy Lieutenant Braede Wilcox, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton family medicine, teaches a point-of-care ultrasound training course to host nation healthcare professionals at the El Salvador National Hospital, San Salvador, August 20, 2024. The training was part of AMISTAD, an event intended to promote increased cooperation and crisis response readiness between El Salvador healthcare providers and U.S. military medical professionals. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A group of U.S. service members stands in front of a building titled "INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE SALUD" — A group of combined U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy forces stand in front of the Instituto Nacional de Salud as part of the AMISTAD campaign in San Salvador, El Salvador, Aug 19, 2024. The group spent the day familiarizing themselves with El Salvadoran healthcare facilities, practices and procedures in preparation to support existing healthcare services. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A man pulls a child training mannequin out of another mannequin while onlookers observe. — An El Salvadoran obstetrics and gynecology specialist delivers an infant using mannequin training devices at the Instituto National de Salud, San Salvador, El Salvador, August 21, 2024. The training was part of AMISTAD, a campaign promoting collaboration with partner nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

Twelfth Air Force (Air Forces Southern), in conjunction with U.S. Southern Command’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance program, donated three point-of-care ultrasound hand instruments for use at major hospitals and one for sustainment training in the Instituto Nacional de Salud.

U.S. Air Force mental health specialists also organized a symposium for healthcare workers explaining an emerging model of mental healthcare that may better address the overarching needs of a population.

“The Primary Care Behavioral Health Model integrates behavioral services into primary care clinics,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Levi Cole, 147th Medical Group clinical psychologist. “This model prioritizes improving the physical and mental health of an entire community. Here in El Salvador, our site visits revealed they experience many of the same challenges we experience in the United States. This new model could be helpful to their hospital clinics as well.”

Two U.S. military members stand behind a podium with an emblem on it that reads "REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL" — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Levi Cole, 147th Medical Group clinical psychologist, and U.S. Air Force Capt. Alba Figueroa, 944th Aeromedical Staging Squadron health services administrator, speak at a mental health symposium in the legislative assembly building at San Salvador, El Salvador, Aug. 29, 2024. Figueroa translated for Cole as they explained the benefits of a new model of mental healthcare to more than 50 symposium participants from across El Salvador. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A group photo of people in U.S. military uniform and civilian clothes. — U.S. service members and El Salvadoran healthcare professionals pose for a group photo in front of the legislative assembly building in San Salvador, El Salvador, Aug. 29, 2024. The group participated in a mental health symposium explaining the benefits of a new model of mental healthcare to more than 50 participants from across El Salvador. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

Communications barriers were addressed throughout the campaign. In many cases, patients or providers only spoke English or Spanish and couldn’t understand one another. Translators facilitated communication at each location ensuring providers could understand one another and that patients were able to receive the care they needed.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Alexandra Albis, 189th Medical Group public health technician and AMISTAD translator, said patients were overwhelmingly grateful for the presence of U.S. servicemembers and repeatedly asked when they would be returning to provide additional care.

Boudreau said missions like AMISTAD help foster relationships for more rapid communication. When U.S. service members know their partner nation’s capabilities, then embedded health engagement teams are more prepared to respond to public health disasters in the region, he explained.

A man looks through an optometry tool while a second man in U.S. military uniform examines him. — U.S. Air Force Capt. Matthew Valdez, 433rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron optometrist, administers an eye exam for a patient at the San Bartolo Hospital, San Salvador, August 20, 2024. U.S. military optometrists integrated directly into operations with host nation specialists to provide care for El Salvadoran citizens. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A child receives a shot while being held by a woman and holding the hand of a man in U.S. military uniform. — U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Samuel Alexander, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, comforts a child being administered a vaccine at an outreach clinic at Ilopango, El Salvador, August 26, 2024. El Salvadoran healthcare professionals and U.S. service members worked together to provide care for more than 100 walk-in patients. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

A U.S. servicemember shakes the hand of a child in a hospital. — U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joel Bailey, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, shakes a child’s hand at the El Salvador National Hospital, San Salvador, August 19, 2024. Bailey told the child in Spanish how U.S. military personnel are supporting host nation doctors and providing support hospital patients. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

Teams can treat the mission like a deployment operation where they coordinate with multiple medical DoD providers and technicians across various specialties with constrained resources, said Boudreau. He said the group performed tremendously well.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Joseph Kim, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron senior air reserve technician and director of operations for the mission, addressed a large portion of the team on their final day supporting the AMISTAD campaign.

“All of you made this a successful mission, and you have our deepest gratitude,” said Kim. “The beauty of U.S. military members is that we can come together from various backgrounds to be a team that will give it all they have to accomplish the mission. You helped local communities and please know that you made a difference to the beautiful country of El Salvador.”

Two people with surgery tools operate on a woman. — U.S. Air Force Capt. Austin Parsons, 60th Medical Group family medicine resident, assists an El Salvadoran surgeon during a procedure to excise an excess growth of skin cells inside a patient’s back at Our Lady Fatima National Hospital, Cojutepeque, Aug. 27, 2024. U.S. service members provided support to teams throughout the hospital as part of the AMISTAD 24 campaign promoting the health and well-being of citizens in Central America. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)

U.S. servicemembers take care of patients in a school classroom. — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Zoltan, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron family physician, speaks with a patient at an outreach clinic in Chalatenango, El Salvador, Aug. 28, 2024. U.S. and El Salvadoran healthcare specialists used a local school as an area to care for walk-in patients as part of the AMISTAD 24 campaign. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton)