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Knowledge offers Iraqis long-term healing

Jan- 8-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, Staff Writer

MOSUL, Iraq—Sciatica, ear infections, swollen tonsils, worms from playing with dogs, cold, fever and asthma.

That's a short list of ailments that might be found at any U.S. walk-in clinic, except this clinic is taking place with an armed detail in a damp and chilly schoolhouse in a poor Mosul neighborhood.

The 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry on Saturday conducted its seventh clinic in the five months it has been deployed in Iraq as part of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

A Humvee toured the neighborhood, broadcasting the opening of the free clinic over a loudspeaker. Even on a rainy, chilly day, more than 200 people lined up to be seen by U.S. Army medics and doctors, bringing the patient total after seven clinics to more than 1,400.

The clinic was austere, held in a building with no electricity. The 16 medics and doctors on hand to examine patients were using the basics: stethoscopes, penlights and an interpreter to communicate.

Medics laid out a table of medicine, including adult and children's vitamins, pain relievers, syrups for coughs and colds and remedies for infection and other ailments, in each of the three examination rooms. All the medications were purchased over-the-counter at local pharmacies. This was important, according to physician assistant Capt. Minnie Dougherty. If the medicine is familiar to the patients, with Arabic directions on the labels, it helps them understand what they can buy on their own if symptoms or illnesses reappear.

It also helps build trust in the local health-care systems, instead of relying on a cure-all from U.S. troops....


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