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Airmen work hard to finish new theater hospital

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Shannon Collins
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Seven biomedical equipment Airmen from six different Air Force bases are combining their skills to help move the Air Force Theater Hospital here from its tent structure to a pre-engineered facility. The final part of the move is scheduled for Aug. 3. 

These specialists, assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron, ordinarily are responsible for maintaining and repairing the tools and equipment used by doctors and nurses to treat patients.  Now they're hard at work making sure things are set for the new facility

"We are excited to get to be a part of this project," said Senior Airman Scott Hatch, a 332nd EMDSS biomedical equipment technician deployed from the 81st Medical Support Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. "We all want to see it turn out to be a huge success and deliver the new facility on time. 

"Everyone on the team has really good ideas of how to accomplish certain tasks or challenges," he said.  "It's a very creative and constructive environment, and since we all want this to be a success, we are always looking at ways to get the job done better and faster."

The team is responsible for ensuring critical infrastructure is in place, to include suction machines and medical gases such as oxygen.   They also must test items such as CT scanners and oxygen generators, said Maj. Brad Weast, 332nd EMDSS transition team leader.

He said the team is coordinating resources, trucks, forklifts and more. They are working site development and placement of key items such as fencing, t-barriers and a covered walkway from the intensive care unit to the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility.

Tech. Sgt. Raymond Hillis, the 332nd EMDSS BMET team lead who is deployed from the 382nd Training Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas, is proud of his team.

"To hire a contractor to do what we are doing would have cost the Air Force $1.8 million, and more importantly would have delayed the opening of our facility by months," Sergeant Hillis said. "Instead, the Air Force turned to the BMET to get the job done. My team has answered the call well. Everyone knows the importance of their jobs and work tirelessly to accomplish the task."

For the team, the importance of their work is reflected in the patients and the people who take care of the wounded.

"I love what I'm doing here," Sergeant Hillis said. "Every time I pull a patient off of a chopper or volunteer to assist the operating room, I see the type of environment our miracle workers are struggling in. I get to be the guy who gives them a better environment to perform their miracles in."

"What we are doing in the new facility is setting up the medical staff assigned to Balad Air Base now and in the future with a hospital that's about as close to a stateside medical treatment facility as you could get being deployed," Airman Hatch said. "For the patients, being in the new facility will undoubtedly be a more comfortable stay.

"Currently, the hospital provides a 98 percent survival rate for its patients," he said. "With the new facility, the hospital can continue to provide outstanding care."

When the team is not working on the new building, they maintain and repair medical equipment. They handle anything from X-Ray machines to thermometers.

They have met daily challenges such as border restrictions with construction equipment, material getting sent port to port, PVC pipes getting sent to the wrong location and running out of t-barriers used for defense, said Major Weast.

But the team has met these challenges head on and are still on deadline, he added. More than 100 volunteers from around the base have come out to help the BMET team and the other teams that are working on the new facility.

The reason for all the help is simple, Major Weast said.

"I cannot think of a single structure, be it a tent or the new building, that has more meaning to so many," he said. "We are in a war zone, so each of us, medical or not, can probably name at least one person who has been affected and has passed through our doors."

The new building is not only for wounded American servicemembers but for the Iraqi people as well.

"The new facility is amazing," Airman Hatch said. "It's easy to forget sometimes that it's an expeditionary project. Seeing the new facility next to the current hospital is like night and day. The new facility will make a wonderful gift to the Iraqi people when our mission here is accomplished."

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