Project on Taji brings donated medical books to Iraqi doctors

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp

[SandRat]

Lt. Col. Mark Burnett, task force surgeon, 1st “Red Lion” Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, who hails from Aiea, Hawaii, counts donated medical books on Camp Taji. Burnett has received thousands of books as part of a project designed to give the most recently published and up to date medical books and professional journals to Iraqi doctors. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.

BAGHDAD — As he reflected on his 15 months in theater and prepared to leave, Lt Col. Mark Burnett, task force surgeon for the 1st “Red Lion” Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment from Fort Lewis, Wash., attached here to the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, said one of his fondest memories has been helping Iraqi doctors by giving them publications highlighting the latest advances in medical science.

Upon arriving with the Red Lion battalion to Camp Taji 10 months ago, Burnett immediately began working to start a project at the base camp that would bring thousands of recently published medical books and journals to doctors throughout northern Baghdad as well as villages just north of the capital city.

“I was really interested in doing some humanitarian work so I got in touch with some folks who had been working with a program to send donated medical books from the states to doctors here,” said Burnett, who hails from Aiea, Hawaii. “Any chance to give Iraqi doctors the tools they need to remain up to date with new healthcare advances will help them improve the quality of care that they can give their patients. They have never asked us to do their jobs, but they just need tools to be able to do their job better.”

“In the states, physicians are much more reliant on Internet access to find information, and they may have books and journals that are just gathering dust on their shelves,” added Burnett. “Text books and journals are much more valued here. (Books) are the lifeblood of information because there are so few people here with internet access.”

Burnett helped start the project here after catching wind of a successful project begun by retired Army colonel, Dr. David Gifford, a rheumatologist working at Darnell Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas. In 2004, Gifford’s son, a medical officer working with the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit at the time, noticed that the library at the College of Medicine there was nearly nonexistent. Most of the medical books had been looted after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

To assist his son, Gifford contacted a major online medical resource, which posts professional information and articles for doctors and nurses. He sent a message to the website informing them of the situation in Tikrit. He also contacted medical members of a civil affairs unit working with the 4th ID. With the help of the medical resource website and the civil affairs unit, the Giffords received thousands of responses and healthcare professionals across the United States sent tens of thousands of professional medical texts and journals to help build a library for the college.

Working off the Gifford’s example, Burnett wanted to do the same thing but for clinics and hospitals in Baghdad and cities to the north.

After making contact with Gifford, Burnett set the wheels in motion to bring the project to Camp Taji by coordinating with the 1st Cav. Div. surgeon, Lt. Col. Jason Wieman. Eventually, they placed several posts on the same medical website that Gifford had used and soon had a system in place to receive the books. Gifford arranged for the books to be sent here.

Since starting the project, Burnett has received thousands of books and journals to include books on such topics as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine among many others as well as the latest issues of the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine.

“So far we’ve been able to distribute one fourth of our books,” said Burnett, explaining that the books have been delivered to doctors and medical healthcare professionals throughout Iraq, most recently to clinics in the villages of Husayniyah, Rashadiyah, Boob Al Sham, hospitals in Baghdad and a hospital in Tarmiyah.

To advance the program and better distribute the books, besides just working with units in the Ironhorse Brigade, Burnett teamed with other U.S. brigades on Camp Taji –specifically, the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division and the 4th BCT, 2nd Infantry Division.

Burnett said the positive feedback he and the brigades on Taji have received from the Iraqi doctors have been worth the efforts of establishing the project.

“Their reactions to receiving the books have been amazing, they are extremely grateful,” Burnett said. “When we drop the books off, the (Iraqi doctors) are surprised that they are receiving recently published books along with journals that are only two to three months old. Most of the books and journals that the doctors have been using are 10 to 15 years out of date, so to receive something new is very meaningful to them.”

“There were a lot of things that happened before the war and after the war started that have placed roadblocks to doctors being able to do their job,” added Burnett. “The medical system here, before Saddam Hussein ruined it, was one of the best in the Middle East. So the doctors are grateful for any help in bringing the system of healthcare back up to that level.”

A unique aspect of the project is that none of the books donated are in Arabic text, according to Burnett.

“When the doctors were trained, they were trained in English and used English text books,” said Burnett. “Even though they may not be able to speak it – although most of them do without the need of an interpreter – they have all learned enough English to be able to read it at a proficient level.”

Burnett said the project would not been successful without the help of his medics.

“The medics from our task force were very helpful and it was good to have a bunch of ex-high school football players to help me with moving all the books,” said Burnett. “The project had value for them too as it was a great way for them to become exposed to some of the premier books in medicine.”

With his departure close at hand, Burnett said it is important for him to ensure that the project continues on Taji long after he is gone.

“There’s a civil affairs team leader here with the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion who is an operating room nurse and will be volunteering his time to the program, so it’s definitely being left in good hands,” said Burnett. “It’s been very rewarding to be able to help out with the program.”

“There are many things happening here that are beyond our control, but this is one of those areas where we can and are definitely making a difference,” he added. “And the more people know about (the project), the more they want to get involved with it.”

For information on how to get involved with the project, interested parties may contact Dr. David Gifford at

[SandRat]

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