More than 30 Alaska National Guard health care and engineering specialists are in tiny Hayneville, Alabama, where hundreds of the region's poorest residents have been lining up for long-needed medical, dental and vision services.
"We are slammed from the minute we get here in the morning until we leave at night," said Capt. John Callahan, the chief of public affairs for the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Wing.
The notion of bringing health care professionals to underserved, low-income rural American communities is an offshoot of Operation Arctic Care, a successful military medical training operation that basically saw guard and reserve health care specialists from all over the country making a big house call, of sorts, in Bush Alaska villages.
The program was so successful it was taken over by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and has recently begun to be offered nationwide, Callahan said.
Hands-on health training for Alaska troops
It's basically a training exercise for the troops in two ways, he said. Not only do the health care specialists get the opportunity to do hands-on training by seeing walk-in patients but the training also involves moving personnel and equipment much as if they'd have to set up a medical operation in the field if there were a natural disaster or perhaps they were called overseas, Callahan said.
"This program allows us to get the training we need while having a real-world impact," he said.
Hayneville, with a low-income population of about 1,200, applied for the program. The 176th Wing in Alaska was asked to lead the operation and spearheaded the deployment of personnel, equipment and supplies.
About 70 guard and reserve members are involved, coming from all parts of the country. Most are medical specialists although the Alaska team and Marines brought along some civil engineers. In addition to supporting the clinic, which has been set up in the town hall, the engineers have been building a canopy for the mental health clinic in Hayneville and helping the town resolve a long-standing sewage draining problem, Callahan said.
The medical clinic opened May 3 and has seen more than 700 people. Callahan said people were lined up and waiting to get in from the first day, and many had slept in their cars to make sure they got a spot.
"The crush of people coming in was just enormous," he said.
The greatest demand has been for dental and vision services, particularly for new eyeglasses. Callahan said the team is able to make new glasses for people on their site. The medical team writes the prescriptions and send the patient on to another unit that has a machine capable of cutting pre-made lenses to fit frames. The glasses are, of course, free to the patient.
The dentists and hygienists have been doing a booming trade too, he said, with full services provided including extractions. Those dental services are costly even to people with insurance.
Callahan noted that there are "many, many" uninsured people in the area and word spread quickly that the clinic was open for business. "This area has been pretty hard hit economically in recent years and many people have not been able to afford to get to the dentist in recent years," he said.
In late April, northern Alabama was devastated by tornadoes that killed hundreds and left thousands homeless. Some victims of the tornadoes have been showing up at the Hayneville clinic, including people who lost their glasses in the storms or couldn't find their prescriptions anymore, Callahan said.
Tuesday was the clinic's last operational day; Wednesday is pack-up day and the unit heads home to Alaska Thursday.
Contact Patti Epler at patti(at)alaskadispatch.com