Medics Visit Remote Afghan District

Defend America News ^ | Capt. Joe Campbell

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U.S. Air Force Maj. Kurt Workmaster, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team physician assistant, checks the blood pressure of an elder in the Paryan District, Afghanistan, July 16, 2006. Three medics from the Panjshir PRT treated more than 200 patients during the Medical Civic Action Program, or MEDCAP, which was coordinated at the invitation of Panjshir Director of Health Dr. Jellani. U.S. Air Force photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Cumper
Medics Visit Remote Afghan District
Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team treats more than 200 patients.
By Air Force Capt. Joe Campbell Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, July 25, 2006 -- Patients walked as far as six miles, and waited as long as eight hours, for treatment by Air Force medics from the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team who visited the Paryan district on July 15 and 16. The Medical Civic Action Program, or MEDCAP, was coordinated at the invitation of Panjshir Director of Health Dr. Jellani.  The Paryan District police chief provided officers for escort and security for the event. "A woman told me she prayed for the safety of the Americans every night and she had a dream that an American doctor was coming to the village." Shahla Hammond, Panjshir PRT interpreter At nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, Paryan is the northernmost, and has the highest elevation, of the six districts in the Panjshir Valley. Due to the rough and narrow road, it took the team more than five hours to reach the district from their headquarters in Bazarak. “We saw the dire need in Paryan when we were here recently to do site evaluations and humanitarian assistance drop planning,” said Air Force Maj. Kurt Workmaster, Panjshir PRT physician assistant. Paryan only has one physician at its Basic Health Clinic along with two nurses and one midwife for the district’s 38,000 residents. “On the previous visit, I saw 70 patients in one day out of the back of a traveling vehicle and one of the clearest lessons I got out of that experience was this is not the way to go,” Workmaster said.	For the most recent mini-MEDCAP, the team set up at a private residence in a remote village to reach those hampered by the distance to the clinic. They treated women and children in the morning and men in the afternoon. “With the help of our interpreters, we had one medic screen, triage, and collect patient vital signs while the other two performed ordered procedures and filled prescriptions,” said Air Force Senior Airman Conan Broyles, Panjshir PRT medic. The medics prepared for family medicine versus emergency medicine, a lesson they had learned on previous MEDCAPs so they set up their prescription kit accordingly. “We mostly treated patients for arthritis, acid reflux, congestion and skin and eye irritations,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Charles Campbell, noncommissioned officer in charge of medics.  Campbell is deployed from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Campbell added that some conditions needed further evaluation and the medics explained this to the patient or parent and often provided a note to assist with the referral. The team saw more than 200 patients who were grateful for the visit. The medics were equally moved by the Afghans’ consideration of their well-being. “A woman told me she prayed for the safety of the Americans every night and she had a dream that an American doctor was coming to the village,” said Shahla Hammond, Panjshir PRT interpreter. “That was very touching to all of us.”

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