440th reservists bring healthcare to Garden Island

by Tech. Sgt. Elizabeth Moody
440th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs

8/9/2014 - POPE ARMY AIRFIELD, N.C.  -- A team of reservists from the 440th Medical Squadron here travelled to Kauai, Hawaii, June 16-26 to join other reserve volunteers from the armed forces in support of 2014 Tropic Care. Members of the medical team included a physical therapist, several dentists, optometry and dental technicians.

Their joint-service humanitarian mission involved working long days in make-shift clinics, while providing basic medical care for more than 9,000 people on the island. According to Hawaii's Department of Health, more than 22,000 patient services were provided, including more than 5,000 pairs of new eyeglasses for the islanders during the 11-day assignment.

"I am extremely proud of the service my team provided in support of Tropic Care," said Col. Eugene Gaspard, 440th medical squadron commander. "This was an awesome opportunity for them to provide medical and dental care to an underserved population as well as gain experience in working and training in a 'deployed' environment on real patients."

Gaspard said not only did the patients benefit from the care they received, but our Airmen gained invaluable experience that will strengthen their military and professional careers.

The humanitarian mission also provided an opportunity to demonstrate how to deliver world-class healthcare services in a joint civil and military environment.

"I really enjoyed working with the Navy and seeing how each branch works while learning different techniques," said Airman 1st Class Jatoni White, a 440th MDS dental assistant.

"I've never felt that there's much difference between the uniformed services," said Maj. Eric James, 440th MDS physical therapist, here. "We're all in the same fight. And when you drill down to the fact that we're all medical people, it doesn't matter if you're Army, Navy, Marine or Air Force because we're all medical providers and we're all one mission and one fight."

"It was good teamwork," said Capt. Jason Young, 440th MDS dentist. "Working with people from other armed forces was my favorite part of the mission."

Providing care for so many people during the mission in such a short period of time was challenging for the medical teams but the outpouring of appreciation by the islanders made every hour worth the labor, said Young. Before leaving Kauai, Young said a traditional Hawaiian luau was given by the local community to thank the Tropic Care team for their work supporting the humanitarian operation.

"The appreciation shown by local people for the care given by the medical teams was the best part of the trip," said Capt. Bryan Roach, 440th MDS dentist. "The folks were really nice and they appreciated our work so it made the long work days really worth it."