PA Provides Medical Care in Iraq
U.S. News and World Report featured U.S. Army PA Yuri Rivera in an article about the lack of health care for civilians in Iraq.
A report last year from the Iraqi government found that 70 percent of critically wounded people brought to Iraqi hospitals die due to lack of proper drugs, equipment, and doctors.
The task is so overwhelming that the Army limits what its medics are allowed to do. For long-term care, Iraq needs its doctors—many of whom have left the country by the thousands during the continuing conflict—to return home. Capt. Yuri Rivera, 38, a physician's assistant with the U.S. 2-4 Infantry, goes out on patrol only once every few weeks. When he does, the endless parade of ailments is heart-wrenching.
In a quiet cul-de-sac near Dora market, he talks with a local cafe owner whose son lazily clips his fingernails with a pair of rusting wire cutters. Where, Rivera wants to know, is the local woman whose husband is dying? The cafe owner eventually points out the gate of a house, which is opened by a woman in her mid-30s who looks far younger than her recent experiences would suggest.
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