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Bagram Pharmacists provide vital service

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  "Pharmacy, please report to the ICU! Pharmacy to the ICU!"

That's not something heard in most stateside hospitals, but at Craig Joint Theater Hospital it's a regular call for the members of the 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron pharmacy flight.

The seven-member flight not only fills 8,000 to 14,000 medication orders for both inpatients and outpatients per month, but is frequently called into the emergency room to provide on-the-spot service.

"We take care of the acutely injured so that the emergency department team is able to focus 100 percent on the patient without having to worry about drawing up their own meds," said Maj. Fernando Santana, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron pharmacy flight commander, deployed from Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

Santana said normally another nurse would fill that role. Providing service to trauma patients is the most complex role the pharmacy flight undertakes.

"Back home ... it's not something we're accustomed to doing," Santana said. "I think the average person doesn't realize that is a service the pharmacy can provide."

"We're the medication experts, so it makes sense that we would provide that here."

Master Sgt. Tammy Robinson, 455th EMDSS pharmacy flight chief, said the pharmacy here is the busiest in Afghanistan and those chosen to man it are carefully scrutinized.

"It is based on experience and skill level," she said. "This is a privilege since not everyone gets chosen for this deployment."

Robinson, deployed from Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., added that working on trauma cases requires focus and confidence, because in a fast moving intensive care unit, doctors and nurses shouldn't have to think about whether the syringe being passed to them contains the right amount of the right medication.

"There's no room for error," the New York, N.Y., concluded.

When they're not assisting with trauma cases, Santana and his team are working to improve the service to patients who walk up to their window in the hospital.

"If we don't have a medication, we find a way to get it," Santana said. "If we can't get it, we look to see if we can compound it."

Santana cited one case of a patient with a skin condition where the pharmacy didn't stock the particular topical medication needed. However, they did have the medication in the form of oral capsules.

"We opened those up, put them in an ointment base and made a topical for that patient they wouldn't have otherwise had," Santana said.

Another improvement Santana mentioned was reengineering their logistics process to better mesh with their headquarters. This allowed the pharmacy to process restock orders much faster.

"We were able to get [medications] within 10 days," Santana said, "before we got here it was averaging anywhere from 21 to 28 days."

Whether it's providing instant service for an emergency patient or simply dispensing pills to ease muscle pain, Santana spoke very highly of the flight he leads.

"[When] you take seven ordinary people and work together as a team, you find that you can accomplish extraordinary things," he said.

"We're really proud of the work we've done."