STRPCE/SHTERPCE, Kosovo - A multi-ethnic crowd of health professionals learned about techniques to restore breathing at a "Grand Rounds" event here March 16.
Capt. Eugene Vajna, Orlando, Fla., spoke at the event about the emergency use of drugs to help open airways. Vajna is the nurse anesthetist for Multi-National Battle Group-East and provides all anesthesia services at Camp Bondsteel's hospital.
"When people aren't breathing, you need to take over their airway and breathe for them," he said. "To secure an airway you need to get a tube down into their lungs. Using drugs helps with this, especially in a patient who's not quite unconscious."
More than 35 medical professionals from the area attended the event. Maj. Christopher A. Burgess, Canton, Mich., Camp Bondsteel's Grand Rounds coordinator, said approximately one third of the audience was Kosovo Serb with the remainder Kosovo Albanian. Two interpreters were on hand to make sure that everyone in the audience could understand the presentation.
The event was hosted by Dr. Zoran Staletovic, director of the Strpce/Shtrpce Health House. He said the presentation was "great" and that he hoped to see Camp Bondsteel's doctors visiting Strpce/Shtrpce again soon.
After Vajna finished his lecture, he gave a hands-on demonstration of special tools and techniques.
Vajna is doing a 90-day rotation at the Camp Bondsteel hospital, his second rotation in Kosovo. He visited Strpce/Shterpce last year on his previous rotation to assist with a medical civic action project (MEDCAP) there.
Vajna said that the grand rounds training might have more of an impact than last year's MEDCAP.
"In terms of providing any type of long lasting effect, passing out medicine doesn't go as long far as teaching someone how to do something," he said. "I think from that perspective the regional Grand Rounds is probably a better capacity building approach."
Burgess said that MNBG-E's Task Force Med Falcon works to put on regional grand rounds events on a regular basis. Since Ocotber 2009, events have been held in Kamenica/Kamenice, Viti/Vitina, Ferizaj/Urosevac and Gjilan/Gnjilane.
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