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Navy Paktika PRT Healthcare Provider Saves Lives

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100326-21
Release Date: 3/26/2010 6:19:00 PM

By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Mark Lazane, Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs

SHARANA, Afghanistan (NNS) -- The Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan continues to assist in the stabilization and security of Paktika, a large province located on the eastern Afghan border near the Pakistan tribal areas.

"The PRT mission is difficult at times and there are definitely obstacles to overcome," said U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Vincent "Doc" Lopez, a physician assistant from Phoenix, Ariz. and Paktika PRT medical officer. "But with help from the dedicated Afghan people, little by little, we can provide them with stability and improve their quality of life."

However, rather than going out and actively combating insurgent activity, the PRT focuses on other causes of instability: healthcare, infrastructure development, governance and agriculture initiatives.

The PRT is a collection of military and interagency partners who help provide the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the tools necessary to provide for the long-term needs of the provincial population.

Lopez's first role is to administer medical care to almost 100 military and civilian members of PRT Paktika and ensure they are mission capable every day.

To perform those duties, Lopez relies on his medical training and a team of Navy hospital corpsmen to ensure the Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen on the PRT team are healthy and mission-ready.

Lopez's second role with the PRT is to assist the Afghan government in improving the quality and quantity of healthcare for the citizens of Paktika province. Under his watch, the medical directors in the young provincial government are mentored and guided to eventually become expert public health directors. For Lopez, this tasking is nothing new.

Lopez spent several years as an active-duty enlisted Sailor. He attended Hospital Corpsman "A" school at Great Lakes, Ill. and Field Medical Service school at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Five years later, Lopez accepted an honorable discharge from the military to pursue his dream of becoming a physician's assistant. He attended Stanford University, earning a physician assistant's degree and a degree in business administration. Following graduation, he moved back to his hometown of Phoenix and started working as a physician's assistant in an orthopedic surgery clinic.

Lopez worked as a civilian physician's assistant for five years, but felt his training and expertise in providing medical care could be put to even greater use. Lopez then sought to realize yet another dream and some 10 years after leaving the military as an enlisted Sailor, Lopez began his second career as a naval officer.

"I wanted to be a Navy officer," said Lopez. "That's why I signed up, I knew there were people I'd be able to help and I wanted to help them. I knew I'd deploy and I wanted to come to Afghanistan."

Less than two years after returning to the Navy, Lopez was given his current assignment in Paktika province. With medical facilities and equipment often in short supply in the province, basic medical care for citizens can be problematic.

"We have good healthcare for the facilities and equipment we have [here]," said Dr. Ahmad Baseer, public health adviser for Paktika province and a surgeon by trade.

"The problem is we lack a lot of the specialty services that hospitals in Kabul and other places have. With the limited facilities and equipment, as well as the lower wages, it's difficult to recruit doctors, especially specialists, to come practice here."

It's the sort of situation that can frustrate even the most optimistic volunteer, but not Lopez.

"The medical situation in this province is actually coming along quite nicely," Lopez said.

"If we can increase the amount of healthcare workers in the province, provide increased medical facilities and increase the amount medical providers are paid, we can significantly help the healthcare system of this province," he added.

"Measuring success can be difficult to do here," said Lopez. "I measure my success directly from comments from my troops, as well as comments from medical providers around the province. If they feel more capable of performing their job, then I know I am doing mine correctly."