Base Airman saving lives in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Candace Romano
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  Servicemembers being wheeled headfirst into the Air Force Theater Hospital emergency room shouldn't be surprised if the first person they see is a pharmacist.

Amid every trauma team assembling in a flurry of stethoscopes, charts and needles is a clinical pharmacist and a pharmacy technician carrying out their primary mission: trauma medicine and saving lives. 

Saving lives with seven other pharmacists and pharmacy technicians is Master Sgt. Michelle Bloxson, who is deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group here.  Sgt. Bloxson is the non-commissioned officer in charge of the pharmacy flight here and has been in the Air Force for 17 years.

"Everyone here has a purpose, and all the purposes come together to save lives ... every person runs to the aid of someone who comes through those doors, because they feel personally responsible for their life," said Maj. (Dr.) Derek Speten, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group pharmacy flight commander and clinical pharmacist provider. "Right here - this is the closest most will ever get to critical care pharmacy."

Initial assessments by the pharmacist include airway, breathing and circulation stabilization and any necessary antibiotics to counteract injuries.

"Every situation is different," said Major Speten, deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill. "There is no 'cure-all,' so we need to be ready to adapt to any and every situation."

Another critical issue is pain control and management through morphine, monitored carefully by the pharmacist.

"We watch carefully for the physical and emotional effects of their injury," said the major. "The body often compensates for injuries sustained through an adrenaline rush or shock. The person will eventually 'crash,' and that's when our care becomes critical ... it's the difference between life or death."

When it comes to life and death, the hospital knows no discrimination. The Balad pharmacy supports all American servicemembers throughout Central Command, local nationals and people brought here as a result of humanitarian efforts. They even treat the 'bad guys,' according to Sgt. Bloxson.

The staff treats trauma in the ER as a priority, but is also responsible for filling prescriptions, mixing intravenous fluids for use in all patient care areas of the hospital, and making rounds in the intensive care units and wards.

According to Capt. (Dr.) Luis Valdivieso, critical care pharmacist, the pharmacy filled 23,706 prescriptions for inpatient, outpatient and over-the-counter medications in January. With a staff of eight responsible for 24/7 operations, it is a fast-paced environment where urgency is everything and there is no room for error.

The role of stateside pharmacies and their deployed counterparts is very different.

"There is no war back home ... people just aren't normally shot, burned or blown up the way they are in the combat zone," said the major, who is a combat veteran and a former Army infantry officer. "There is no way to prepare yourself for something like this - the feeling of accomplishment here means so much more. It just doesn't compare to what we do stateside."

Pharmacy in the deployed environment also presents challenges, including being face-to-face with death on a daily basis. For every person who is wheeled through those doors, 98 percent survive and are eventually discharged.

"Seeing people survive and get healthier gives us a sense of accomplishment," said the major, waving to an Iraqi boy in the ward. "Some people don't remember us after being rushed into the ER, but some do - they realize we're the ones who helped them with their pain."

The experience really hits home and is no longer 'just a job.'

"It definitely makes me feel as a pharmacy technician I have a true purpose," Sergeant Bloxson said. "I see firsthand what I'm doing to save peoples' lives ...it's touching and heartbreaking at the same time."

"When I'm able to save someone and can see them later in the ICU or the wards, it's very rewarding. It motivates me knowing the critical care we're giving can potentially save a person's life ... it's an awesome feeling."

Captain Valdivieso, deployed from Lackland AFB, Texas, shares similar sentiments.

"I have a greater respect and honor for life now after being exposed to life and death situations ... as a professional in the medical field, I'm just a small part of a gamut of people helping those in need."

Pharmaceutical intervention in the ER has improved survivability of battlefield injuries here.

"It all starts in the trauma bay," the major said. "People live and die here ... we're on the cutting edge of combat pharmacy and critical care."