III MEF medical team in Indonesia to pass 2,000 patient mark

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CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa, Japan (June 8, 2006) -- III Marine Expeditionary Force medical personnel supporting disaster relief efforts in Indonesia will treat their 2,000th patient today, Marine officials said.

Since deploying to the region two days after the country was ravaged by a devastating earthquake, Marines and sailors from III Marine Expeditionary Force have provided critical care to an average of 229 patients per day, according to 1st Lt. Eric Tausch, a Marine spokesman in Indonesia.

“We’ll break 2000 today; no problem,” Tausch said during a phone interview.

The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade medical assistance team, consisting of 172 Marines and sailors, arrived in Indonesia May 29 and set up a mobile medical facility in a local soccer stadium in Sewon.

In 11 days, the facility has operated: six mobile medical teams that have traveled to several Indonesian villages; and medical clinics and hospitals in the area that treated 580 patients.

The teams also provided relief to the overflowing, local hospitals. They treated 1,251 patients at the 3rd MEB mobile facility in Sewon, and the two 3rd MEB surgeons performed 55 surgeries.

“(The facility) was capable of general surgery and acute, urgent, and primary care, but it morphed into a deliverer of a broad spectrum of post disaster health services,” said Navy Capt. David A. Lane, the 3rd MEB command surgeon. “These services even include tetanus vaccinations for all patients with open wounds.”

3rd MEB vaccinations have augmented efforts by the World Health Organization to address serious concerns about the vulnerability to disease caused by the earthquake.

The earthquake’s destruction displaced hundreds of thousands of Indonesians. Many are at risk of contracting tetanus, a devastating bacterial infection that usually originates from a contaminated laceration or deep puncture wound. Tetanus causes prolonged contraction of muscles resulting from rapidly repeated motor impulses, and it is fatal in more than 30 percent of cases.

Several cases of tetanus have surfaced already, and 3rd MEB personnel have started a mass vaccination program, according to Tausch.

“We came here with about 10,000 doses of tetanus vaccine, and we’re working to get through all 10,000 doses,” Tausch said. “Basically, our mobile medical teams are going door-to-door to support the Indonesian governments’ efforts to address the tetanus threat.”

Tausch said he believes the teams have already administered about half of the 10,000 doses, and they’re trying to administer the remainder as quickly as possible.

“We’re going to vaccinate as many as we can while we’re here,” he said. “Tetanus is threatening their lives here.”

Since the relief effort began, KC-130 Hercules aircraft from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, have provided non-stop transportation and logistical support for the ever-changing operation. The Marines have flown 52 sorties and logged more than 282 flight hours, moving essential supplies and personnel to the overwhelmed area.

The Indonesian government announced recently that it would begin transitioning this weekend from the emergency phase to the recovery phase of relief operations.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met recently with the Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono. During the meeting, they discussed the combined efforts of U.S. and Indonesian forces in the disaster relief effort, which involves more than 20 countries.

Marine officials reported that Sudarsono expressed his appreciation for U.S. involvement, and Rumsfeld and Sudarsono also discussed a timeline for the retrograde of III MEF forces.

“We’ve seen a drastic increase in patients with non-earthquake related ailments at our medical support facility,” Tausch said. “And our mobile medical teams that have been working with local medical facilities have indicated that these facilities no longer need our assistance.”