Joint team works to improve care in Nauru

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • Air Force News Agency
REPUBLIC OF NAURU (AFPN) --  Life is unique in the world's smallest island nation -- the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru.

It sits just slightly south of the equator, so most of the day is uncommonly hot. Electricity flows in a given facility for no more than 12 hours a day; it comes on for about six hours at a time on the good days. Time seems to move a little slower; no one seems to be in any hurry. And shoes are optional.

But Army Col. (Dr.) Joseph Dai, a pediatrician based out of Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, is finding other differences -- differences he wants to change.

Dr. Dai is part of a 12-person, joint-force team deployed to Nauru by U.S. Pacific Command.

After seeing more than a hundred Nauruan first graders, talking with school administrators, and holding question-and-answers sessions with teachers, Colonel Dai realized there was one thing he'd like to see change immediately.

"Unlike our system, where the education and health systems work together, there really doesn't seem to be that connection in Nauru," Colonel Dai said.

There is no pediatrician living the island, nor does one visit regularly. There is no school nurse, either.

Of the 111 children Colonel Dai saw on his first day, 20 had ear infections. An ear infection can adversely affect a child's hearing, but the proper, inexpensive antibiotic can quickly clear it up. However, because there is no school medical program, they have gone unnoticed.

To change this, Colonel Dai will suggest setting up a school medical program. He figures a team of two nurse practitioners could see each of the island's 3,000 children at least once annually for screening examinations. There would also ideally be some kind of "sick call" for children in each of the 10 schools.

"These school 'doctors' would prescribe antibiotics and medication, as nurse practitioners can do, and it would be far les costly than hiring physicians," Colonel Dai said. "I think that would be a major upgrade for the children of this community."

Suggestions like Colonel Dai's are the intended outcome of this mission. Rather than simply addressing symptoms of problems, the goal is to suggest long-term easily sustainable solutions to the island's issues and help the Nauruans get started in making necessary changes.

Another example of this is in the asbestos abatement program. An overwhelming percentage of the island's buildings -- including most of its schools -- are built from materials containing asbestos. Instead of removing it for them, another team member, Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Brignac, a bioenvironmental engineering technician based at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is showing Nauruans how to build containment enclosures so they can safely dispose of the asbestos building materials themselves.

Other team members are teaching health care providers about dialysis, diabetes and reviewing basic lifesaving techniques.

"We're trying to build capacity and sustainability with these very focused activities we're doing," said Maj. Brad Cogswell, an international health specialist at Hickam AFB and the Nauru team coordinator. "We hope that what we leave behind they can use to improve their quality of life for the long term."

Based on the team's goals, Colonel Dai said he thinks the time with the children is a great investment.

"A nation that cares for its children preserves its own future," he said.