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Humanitarian mission impacts team, residents

  • Published
  • By Capt. Yvonne Levardi
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) --  A team of 10 Army, Navy and Air Force medical servicemembers returned July 28 from a medical humanitarian assistance mission to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

In addition to training medical staff, the joint team on Vanuatu also performed train-the-trainer classes in combat life support, self-aid and buddy care CPR to about 20 new instructors from the Vanuatu Police Force, Promedical Paramedic Department, and Customs and Immigration Department.

Servicemembers donated 10 refurbished and upgraded Automated External Defibrillators to Santos Porta Villa General Hospital, and conducted CPR train-the-trainer training for five medics from Vanuatu who then taught their first class of 20 students.

"This will allow the hospital to start teaching their staff," said Master Sgt. Tracy Lewis, the NCO in charge of international health affairs at the Pacific Air Forces Surgeon General Office from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. "We also donated 10 adult and 10 pediatric CPR manikins to the Port Vila General Hospital so they can carry on with future training."

A five-person obstetrics-gynecology surgical team also worked at the hospital on Espiritu Santo island for the week. The team performed surgery and did training with local staff and Australian medical students at the facility. 

"The team did nine surgeries to include emergency Cesarean-sections, all while on call every night for a week," Sergeant Lewis said.

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, an archipelago of 83 islands total. The island was the site of a large United States and allied forces military supply, airfield and support bases during the latter stages of World War II.

"(The trainees) had a basic knowledge of a lot of the principles that we gave them so it was easier for them; they caught on well," said Tech. Sgt. William Parker, the NCO in charge of the Clinical Medicine Flight of the 15th Medical Group from Hickam AFB. "They were very appreciative of our being there to impart the new knowledge. Everyone was very thankful and that was demonstrated to us throughout our time there."

The instructors also got to see the trainees' skills put to use before they left.

"One of the self-aid buddy care instructors we taught used the skills real-world," Sergeant Parker said. "A family member fractured an arm and the instructor was able to use the skills we taught him for that person until they got medical treatment. "

Sergeant Parker said one of the people he trained was so appreciative he said "Goodbye" to the team at the airport, and wanted to keep in touch with him.

"In a letter to me he said he felt so blessed to have people come and teach them these skills, and told me how much it impacted his family and the people of Vanuatu," he said. "That really brought it home for me. This was an awesome experience."

"Everyone was very eager to learn and enjoyed our courses," said Master Sgt. Bob Woods, an independent duty medical technician for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam AFB. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The people there are so friendly and treat you like family. We even had people that took us to the airport when we left and were in tears as we departed. It was really nice to see we had touched them that much."

Team members were from the 15th Airlift Wing from Hickam AFB, Tripler Army Medical Center, the 3rd Wing from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, PACAF, Air Force Reserve Command, the Naval Medical Center Portmouth, Va., and JPAC.

This mission displayed the Air Force's ability to deliver quickly relief in the form of medical and civil capabilities to far and isolated areas of the Pacific. The U.S. Pacific Command funded the humanitarian assistance program through the Asia Pacific Regional Initiative to conduct theater security cooperation and humanitarian assistance operations throughout the region. 

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