Army Reserve Teams Up with Kuwait Hospital to Treat POWs, Others

Staff Sgt. Dawn Tal, of the 865th Combat Support Hospital in Kuwait, aids in diagnosing Staff Sgt. Jayme McKenna, who came in complaining of chest pains. Photo by Spc. Cory Meyman, U.S. Army Reserve Public Affairs.

A HOSPITAL IN KUWAIT -- The Army Reserve 865th Combat Support Hospital in Kuwait sees all kinds of patients come through its doors. From POWs and combat casualties, to non-combat related illness and accidents, the job of the hospital staff is to ensure the soldiers leave the hospital healthier and refreshed.

The Army Reserve-run operation is not set up in tents or other makeshift facilities. The United States has been working with the Kuwaitis inside a state-of-the-art facility that makes it easier for the doctors and nurses to care for the soldiers and civilians.

"It was nice to walk into a ready hospital," said Maj. John Clurzynski, chief of pharmacy at the hospital. "There are very few antibiotics or therapies in the U.S. that I can't perform here. We have the only CATscan and MRI in theater."

The unit came to the hospital as part of a regular deployment to Kuwait. They were replacing a group before them. They just happened to be deployed during the time the war began.

The unit got an increased amount of casualties during the war, but the higher percentage of patients was from regular day-to-day incidents from the surrounding supply and equipment camps.

"We deal with accidental and combat gunshot wounds, motor vehicle accidents, upper respiratory problems, and other more regular things. The biggest problem in Kuwait for the hospital is pneumonia. The desert sand has a lot of particulates in it and when a dust storm occurs, it's like working in a contaminated area," he said.

The major said duty at this combat zone hospital is somewhat working like working in a small city hospital with all of the people coming in from work related accidents. The benefit of being a military hospital is that the doctors get help from other hospitals around the area.

If the doctors need a certain type of equipment, they can contact either the Kuwaitis or other military medical facilities around and get what they need.

"In regular hospitals you can get competition sometimes," said Clurzynski. "We all make sure we have what we need. We swap supplies with the Germans, British, and Kuwaitis."

The supplies are needed occasionally, but the doctors rarely need help for surgery. Most of the members of the 865th are also medical professionals and technician in their civilian lives.

"All the main doctors and nurses here have fields related in trauma, which makes them well able to do the surgeries," the pharmacist said. "Our job is the same, we're just in a little different of an environment."

The hospital also has a separate group of soldiers for laboratory testing, medical supplies, and drugs.

Lt. Col. Alan Bessette, from Utica, NY, helps perform laboratory testing on patients and providing information so the doctors can make medical decisions.

Providing emergency blood is among the key services offered at the hospital. Bessette said the Kuwaiti blood bank is an excellent partner in ensuring patients quickly get the right blood.

"We can get a cross-match here in a half hour," said Bessette, who also teaches medical microbiology at a college in Utica. "The hospital has an excellent clinical lab and the Kuwaitis are very supportive."

Being inside an established hospital is also better for the support soldiers, giving them a better environment for taking care of patients. They don't have to contend with temperature variations and dust. The hospital is also located near easy access to other facilities should they need extra help.

The unit knew that they would be coming into a hospital, so they only deployed about 120 people instead of all 500 assigned to the 865th hospital, since they wouldn't have to build a facility from scratch in the desert.

"We have an advantage here," said Capt. Philip Thompson. "We have beds and wells and other equipment already, so we didn't have to lug it all they way from the states to here. The best part is we don't have to take it apart it when we leave."

The volume of people coming in has lessened since organized Iraqi resistance ended, so the soldiers have a lot less to do than in the three weeks of active combat.

"It's boring," said Thompson before he quickly added, "But it's a great type of boring. It means less people are getting hurt."

The hospital is still seeing some action. The American POWs who were released in the last few days were treated here. They left after they were treated, able to go home once they were deemed okay.

A group of the soldiers think the most memorable part of their job so far was taking care of some Iraqi children who were transported to the hospital for treatment wounds caused by Iraqis firing their weapons into the air while celebrating the end of the Saddam Hussein regime.

"A group of children came in, not one of them more than 10 years old," said Thompson. "We had to treat them from wounds received from bullets coming down from the sky."

During a gathering in Iraq, people shot off their weapons into the sky in celebration of the Americans coming. Stray rounds found their way back to the earth and accidentally hit the three children.

"That was the best part," the captain said of assisting the children. "I hadn't seen a 10 year old girl since I got here. We took all the projectiles out and treated them. The three kids will be okay. It is very rewarding to help the States and Iraq at the same time."

For more information contact:
Lt. Col. Boyd Collins
Phone: (404) 464-9471
Fax: (404) 464-8421

Source: U.S. Army Reserve Public Affairs, Fort McPherson, GA 30330