Medical team helps accident victims

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chris Stagner
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Two Iraqis and one Pakistani, all seriously injured, were transported to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group here Jan. 9 after an automobile accident left two dead and more injured outside Camp Cedar, Iraq.

“It was a great medical response,” said Col. (Dr.) Bob English, commander of the 332nd EMG and deployed from Dover Air Force Base, Del. “This occurrence brought together U.S. Army and Air Force, Dutch and contractor medics together to save the lives of these three individuals.”

The accident occurred while heavy fog covered the southern Iraq desert.

“Our initial issue was the amount of fog,” said Army Capt. Suzanne Smith, a C Company 161 physician’s assistant and deployed to Camp Cedar from Camp Atterbury, Ind. “We were almost on the accident before we saw the burning vehicles.”

Captain Smith and her crew assessed the scene and did what they could to help the three individuals.

“Our focus is to do everything we can to get them to the next echelon of care,” she said. “We all felt we had the skills to get these guys to the Air Force hospital.”

With only 40 minutes of notification, the 332nd EMG team prepared for the arrival of the three injured people.

“We had a significant amount of help. Everyone was capable of doing what needed to be done,” said Maj. (Dr.) Donovan Tapper, 332nd EMG staff surgeon general, deployed here from MacDill AFB, Fla. “Our response was equivalent to what we’ve seen in the large metropolitan areas.”

Besides their injuries, all the patients were burn victims as well. The most serious patient had third-degree burns to his hands, back and face, said Dr. Tapper.

“Burns to the face [are] especially [dangerous],” the doctor said. “You have problems with swelling, which can cause blockages to the airway”

The first thing medics had to do was put a tube into on man’s lungs so he could breath. If the medical team had not gotten him to the operating room quickly, he would have died, Dr. Tapper said.

“It was pretty bad,” said Airman 1st Class Ivonne Castillo, a 332nd EMG medical technician deployed here from Lackland AFB, Texas. “I did a lot of dressings. I’ve done them before, but not on burns.”

The airmen who work at the 332nd EMG come from different bases, backgrounds and specialties to ensure servicemembers here have the best available care at all times.

“We don’t have the newest equipment, but we’re not lacking on experience,” Dr. Tapper said. “In medicine your personnel can make up for equipment shortages.”

“These guys did a good job,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) George Martin, 332nd Medical Operations Squadron commander and emergency room doctor, deployed here from MacDill AFB. “We knew we had patients who were potentially critically injured.”

After the treatment they received at the 332nd EMG, the patients are all doing fine.

“The two Iraqi patients were sent to the Army 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad,” Dr. Martin said. “As of today they are both fine. The Pakistani patient was stable enough to be discharged, so he was discharged in care of (contract) medics.”

The 332nd EMG is the largest Air Force expeditionary medical support unit in Iraq.