A ‘humbling’ experience: Ohio National Guard team takes medical care to El Salvador |
Story and photos by Spc. Sam Beavers, 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment DEPT. OF MORAZAN, EL SALVADOR—The crowd around Spc. Mariel Berio, of the 684th Medical Company, has become a mob. You’d think the Spanish speaking, patient administration specialist was giving away MP3 players rather than toothbrushes and toothpaste. Excited and joyous children clamor “pasta, pasta, pasta dientes” (toothpaste). Berio tries to keep up with the demand and furiously distributes the box of dental care products, but soon the demand is too great and the day’s supply is exhausted. “Come back tomorrow” (regresan mañana), is all she is able to tell the ones that were too late. Berio is a part of a group of 35 Ohio National Guard medics and support Soldiers that treated more than 7,000 patients as part of a U.S. Army Medical Readiness Training Exercise July 18 – August 1, in the mountainous regions of Morazán, El Salvador. The MEDRETE is a medical humanitarian and civic assistance exercise conducted in partnership with the Government of El Salvador, and U.S. Southern Command. The purpose of the exercise is to provide excellent training for the Soldiers and free medical care for the host nation, said the officer in charge of the mission, Col. Brett Call, of the Ohio National Guard Medical Detachment. The MEDRETE team visited four different locations during the two-week exercise. The team worked out of local schools in the towns of Corinto, Joateca, Rancho Quemado, and Torola. One man, Alegandro Nolasco, of Torola, told McConnell through a translator, that he has not been able to see for 7 years, but now, after being fitted for a pair of glasses, he can see well. He also thanked McConnell for being attentive and for caring. “This is an experience I’ll take home with me. It makes me look at patient care in a different light,” McConnell said. “I appreciate things in the United States more now.” The treatment services offered included: preventive medicine, general medicine, optometry and dentistry. The path to receive treatments was a journey for many residents. It started with getting to the school, which many people did by foot. Once there was room inside, the El Salvador guards would open the gates to let a group in. Next was registration, followed by a class on preventive medicine taught by El Salvador Ministry of Health officials. Then the patients would be routed, with the help of translators, to the vitals station and then on to their treatment station of choice, where they often would wait again to be seen. After being seen by the doctors, dentists, or an optometry specialist, they would then be routed to the pharmacy where they could pick up their prescriptions, all of which was provided at absolutely no cost to the residents. Capt. Oscar Armado Portillo Hernandez, commander of the El Salvador Policía Militar, said many people have told him how appreciative they are. The team was able to meet this challenge, however, with the help of several El Salvador military translators, all of whom spoke excellent English. In addition to the national military translators, several U.S. Peace Corps members volunteered their time and assisted the MEDRETE team with translation. Eventually, through several hundred repeat exposures, most of the team was able to learn some Spanish words including gripe, toz, and dolor; flu, cough and pain respectively. “It has been a pleasure working together,” Portillo Hernandez said. “I hope that in the future, we can continue working together.” He continued to say that this exercise has been a great benefit to the people and that it has done a lot to improve relations. Sgt. First Class Francisco Roman, of the Ohio National Guard Medical Detachment, echoed that sentiment. “Being here creates better relations between us and them because they can actually see us and talk to us, as opposed to what they hear,” Roman said. “This is not the America they see on TV.” The dental mission was headed by dentists Col. Tom Holtmann, and Col. Michael D. Hablitzel, in partnership with El Salvador dentists. They saw and treated more than 1,000 patients and pulled more than 1,000 teeth. “Their dental needs are extreme,” said Holtmann. “What we are able to do is just the tip of the iceberg. I wish we could spend more time with these patients.” As a part of the MEDRETE a veterinary team from California with the U.S. Army Reserve completed a successful veterinary mission. The veterinary team vaccinated and treated more than 1300 animals. The MEDRETE team was also assisted by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. By the time the closing ceremony arrived and operations began to cease, ‘humbling’ became the most commonly used word amongst the medical team as the stories and lives of more than 7,000 patients sunk in. “This experience brings you back to what you really need,” Call said. “I think every American should come here and see what daily life is like.” -30- |