DOD ready to bolster medical, health support

  • Published
  • By Donna Miles
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Defense Department officials are ready, willing and prepared to provide medical assistance as needed to aid tsunami victims and help stem widespread disease, the Pentagon's top doctor said Jan. 4.

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary defense for health affairs, said DOD officials are working closely with affected nations, other U.S. government agencies and nongovernmental agencies to determine what is needed, and get help to the region as quickly as possible.

The top request right now is for mortuary affairs experts to help deal with the nearly 150,000 people killed during the Dec. 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

Other challenges are getting food, water and medical supplies to the region for the survivors, including hundreds of thousands living in crowded, unsanitary conditions that Dr. Winkenwerder called "breeding grounds for disease."

The goal is to "help stem a second wave of disaster," including epidemics such as e. coli, cholera, Hepatitis A and other waterborne diarrheal illnesses, as well as respiratory diseases such as measles. In the weeks ahead, Dr. Winkenwerder said, malaria and dengue also could become health risks.

Dr. Winkenwerder also said loose and floating material continues to cause injuries as cleanup efforts begin.

DOD officials are “prepared to provide a significant enhanced effort" to help meet the health and medical needs of the region, he said. Officials are focusing their response in two general areas: transportable medical facilities and logistics support.

Dr. Winkenwerder said the military could fly as many as eight field hospitals to the region very quickly and has "plenty of medical materials on hand within Pacific Command" to contribute, if needed.

In addition, Lt. Gen. (Dr.) George Peach Taylor Jr., Air Force surgeon general, said the Air Force could contribute smaller, modular hospital units that fit onto C-17 Globemaster III or C-130 Hercules aircraft. A 25-bed modular hospital that fits onto two C-17s, is sitting on the runway in Yokota Air Base, Japan, awaiting orders to deploy.

These hospitals could deploy with or without medical staffs, depending on need. However, Dr. Winkenwerder said, using medical providers from the region who are able to speak the local language generally would be preferable.

Navy officials are preparing the hospital ship Mercy to ensure it is ready to respond, if called. The ship could reach the region within two to three weeks, Dr. Winkenwerder said.

The United States is "better prepared than we've ever been" to assist in the Asian crisis, he said largely because of mass casualty exercises conducted in recent years to prepare for a potential domestic disaster.

"We're here to help. We want to help, and we're prepared to help," he said.