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	Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for village
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        <h1 class="title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for village</h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2017/Feb/10/2001697967/1920/1080/0/170131-O-VI420-002.JPG"
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                 alt="Patients wait outside a school in Estancia, La Paz, to receive basic medical care from a team of Honduran and U.S. personnel during a two-day Medical Readiness Training Exercise, Jan. 31. Personnel from the Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers to provide the population with immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Patients wait outside a school in Estancia, La Paz, to receive basic medical care from a team of Honduran and U.S. personnel during a two-day Medical Readiness Training Exercise, Jan. 31. Personnel from the Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers to provide the population with immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2017/Feb/10/2001697970/1920/1080/0/170131-O-VI420-013.JPG"
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                 alt="Sgt. Maj. Wilson Carranza from the Honduran Armed Forces Surgeon’s Office and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Bradley Niekamp, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element Preventive Medicine, provide vitamins and deworming medication to a family in Estancia, La Paz during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise Jan. 31. A preventive medicine class was also given where people learned about the importance of sanitary precautions for the prevention of diseases, as well as personal hygiene. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Sgt. Maj. Wilson Carranza from the Honduran Armed Forces Surgeon’s Office and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Bradley Niekamp, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element Preventive Medicine, provide vitamins and deworming medication to a family in Estancia, La Paz during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise Jan. 31. A preventive medicine class was also given where people learned about the importance of sanitary precautions for the prevention of diseases, as well as personal hygiene. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Army Spc. Rachel Attwood, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, checks a patient’s temperature during a medical screening prior to seeing a provider as part of a Medical readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Feb. 1. MEDRETES help servicemembers prepare for humanitarian assistance missions in remote areas. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Spc. Rachel Attwood, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, checks a patient’s temperature during a medical screening prior to seeing a provider as part of a Medical readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Feb. 1. MEDRETES help servicemembers prepare for humanitarian assistance missions in remote areas. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2017/Feb/10/2001697977/1920/1080/0/170131-O-VI420-053.JPG"
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                 alt="Patients wait outside a school in Estancia, La Paz, to receive basic medical care from a team of Honduran and U.S. personnel during a two-day Medical Readiness Training Exercise, Jan. 31. Personnel from the Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers to provide the population with immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Honduran Army 1st Lt. Wilmer Perdomo (left), works as an interpreter for U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Bill Rogers (right), during a Medical readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Jan. 31. The partnership formed by the combined personnel and organizations helped provide care for more than 1,000 patients during the two day mission. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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                 alt="Capt. Joe Kofoed, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, tends to a patient with the help of a Honduran volunteer during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Jan. 31. Volunteers worked as interpreters to facilitate communication between the U.S. servicemembers and patients. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Capt. Joe Kofoed, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, tends to a patient with the help of a Honduran volunteer during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Jan. 31. Volunteers worked as interpreters to facilitate communication between the U.S. servicemembers and patients. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Army Maj. Eric Sorensen and Sgt. Charissa Youngs, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, perform an extraction on a patient during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Jan. 31. Personnel from JTF-Bravo worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers to provide the population with immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services during the two-day mission. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Maj. Eric Sorensen and Sgt. Charissa Youngs, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, perform an extraction on a patient during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Jan. 31. Personnel from JTF-Bravo worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers to provide the population with immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services during the two-day mission. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Pry (far left) and Specialist Lacie Thompson (front left), Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, check prescriptions prior to handing out medication to patients, with support from two Honduran volunteer interpreters during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Feb. 1st, 2017.   MEDRETEs take place throughout Central America and provide services such as immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)"
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            <div class="image-title">Honduran, U.S. partnership provides medical care for underserved village</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Pry (far left) and Specialist Lacie Thompson (front left), Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, check prescriptions prior to handing out medication to patients, with support from two Honduran volunteer interpreters during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Estancia, La Paz, Feb. 1st, 2017.   MEDRETEs take place throughout Central America and provide services such as immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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    <div><b>By Maria Pinel</b> <span class="date">/ Published Feb. 10, 2017</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">LA PAZ, Honduras , </span>
    <p>As early as 6 a.m., patients were gathered outside a school located in the small village of Estancias to receive basic medical attention. </p>
<p>Personnel from Honduran Ministry of Health representatives, Honduran military personnel, members of Joint Task Force – Bravo and the U.S. Agency for International Development, partnered to provide basic medical services to the population of Estancia during a medical readiness exercise from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.</p>
<p>Medical readiness training exercises (MEDRETES) help servicemembers train on their skills to provide humanitarian assistance, a key mission for the U.S. Southern Command and JTF-Bravo, under austere conditions in remote areas, while developing partnerships with the host nations. MEDRETEs take place throughout Central America and provide services such as immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services.</p>
<p>“It’s very important that we maintain our practice of medicine in austere environments.” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Sebastian, who was in charge of patient flow for the MEDRETE.  “We are also creating good will towards our Central American neighbors because often times these patients don’t see medical providers for a long time and this is a great way to make sure they understand that we appreciate them as host and partner nation brothers and sisters.”</p>
<p>MEDEL personnel worked side by side with local nurses and physicians, as well as Honduran soldiers who facilitated translations between the patients and providers. </p>
<p>A preventive medicine class was also given where people learned about the importance of sanitary precautions for the prevention of diseases, as well as personal hygiene. </p>
<p>After completing the class, patients received vitamins and medication, then were sent to a screening section prior to seeing the providers. If they needed to see a dentist they were guided to that section. Women who needed specialized care were taken to the women’s health section.  </p>
<p>“Some of the most common illnesses that we saw were aches and pains, dehydration and communicable diseases,” said U.S. Army Capt. Nathan Hagen, critical care nurse at the JTF-Bravo Medical Element. “This was a very rewarding experience. I think that we managed to blend very different groups and make a cohesive unit between different organizations.”</p>
<p>USAID also contributed to making this mission unique by providing a nutrition station where mothers were taught how to make fortified tortillas by adding radishes and beet roots to the flour, allowing them to provide balanced and necessary nutrients for their children. This was the first time that the USAID nutrition project was part of a MEDRETE mission.  </p>
<p>Honduran Army 1<sup>st</sup> Lt. Wilmer Perdomo, who worked as an interpreter during the two day mission, also highlighted the importance of working together. “We are stretching our forces and improving our relationships. We are supporting each other and it’s really helpful for our people.”</p>
<p>The partnership formed by the combined personnel and organizations helped provide care for more than 1,000 patients during the two day mission. </p>
<p>MEDRETEs take place throughout Central America and provide services such as immunizations, preventive medicine, dental services, basic medical care and pharmacy services.</p><br />
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