European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 20, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 a driving for better medical care bus puts Hospital at Torrejon within reach for Zaragoza patients military Medicine by Tony Nauroth Nuernberg bureaus very Day monday through Fri Day the Hospital bus makes its run. At 6 30 ., it leaves the health clinic at Zaragoza a in northeastern Spain for a four hour trip to Torrejon a near Madrid in Central Spain. It s a journey through rugged almost de ser like Countryside. But it s a journey Many american airmen and their families take if they need More care than the clinic can provide and they Don t want to go to a Spanish Hospital. The Zaragoza clinic does not have Beds and there Are no permanently assigned specialists. The clinic is visited by specialists on a monthly basis from the . Air Force Hospital at Torrejon. The clinic s complement of doctors includes a paediatrician a flight surgeon and two family practice doctors. There also is one physician s assistant. Zaragoza clinic commander it. Col. Russell w. Lembke said the bus service is the result of an airman s suggestion. The idea earned him a $1,000 award. Before the bus patients had to take a train or commuter airline Lembke said. The other option would be to drive them selves 230 Miles Over rough roads. An alternative of course is for patients to go to one of the Spanish hospitals in downtown Zaragoza. Lembke said Many opt for this Choice especially those with a Spanish language background. Not too Many spaniards speak English. Not too Many spaniards speak English. It can be terrifying to patients in a  Russell w. Lembke that s not so bad when you re in a restau rant but it can be terrifying to patients in a Hospital Lembke said. Appointments at Torrejon Are Between 10 45  And 2 30 . The Span of time the civilian contract bus lays Over at Torrejon. It leaves just after 3 . And arrives Back at Zaragoza at 7 30 . For patients who can t take the ride an air evacuation flight travels Between Zara Goza and Madrid on tuesday and Friday. Although As Many As 40 people at a time have Ridden the bus to Torrejon it some times has Only a few passengers. A spokesman said the bus was unable to make the trip Only twice. Once was during a Snow and ice storm the other when a Brush fire enveloped a portion of the route that winds through Rocky ravines and scrub desert. When there Are empty scats extra riders can hop aboard to shop at the larger Torre Jon base Exchange. Newcomers also use it when first arriving for duty at Zaragoza. Short timers use it when they Are ready to hit the Road to their next assignment. There were nine people on the bus when Sandra Gibbs wife of capt. Curtis Gibbs of the 406th tac fighter training Wing at Zaragoza was returning from a 2 15 . Appointment at Torrejon a Hospital. If you plan your schedule right you can eat at the club get some shopping done visit friends and make your appointment during the bus four hour Layover Gibbs said. . John Feeney 406th consolidated aircraft Maint so is an experienced travel or on the route. He curled up in his seat with his head resting on a big Fluffy Pillow that he brought along. You can take the Eagle the air medical evacuation plan but if you Don t make the connections right you might be sitting at Torrejon for As much As a week Feeney said. That s a lot of wasted try temporary duty  medevac is vital link in patient care from Page 7 for ill or injured patients. Flying puts a lot of stress on the body said maj. Marjel Ford chief nurse of the 18th aeromedical staging flight at the Wiesbaden Hospital. I flew the system for three years and it s tiring if you re healthy Ford said. Patients travelling to the United states Are checked out at the 18th aeromedical Stag ing flight and admitted if they re not Well enough to withstand further flight. Depending on where a patient joins the flight the trip can be lengthy and sometimes require an overnight stay. Unscheduled stops and Early morning Showtime for flights can make the trips even More tiring. Patients leaving Izmir and Ankara Turkey on sat urday must stay overnight at in Ciurlik before heading out the next Day for Rhein main and one of the military hospitals in Germany. One monday route goes from Rhein main to Pisa Venice and Aviano Italy then to Ferstenfeld Bruck Stuttgart and Ramstein a Germany and Back again to Rhein main. Patients generally praised the care and handling they received from the medical evacuation Crews. Their complaints concerned the inconvenience of flight schedules and costs they did t expect while waiting for their appointments. One air Force wife in Izmir had a doctor s appointment on a Friday last year at the Hospital in in Ciurlik. She had to take a saturday flight which meant she had to wait in in Ciurlik for a week. The Only return flight left on thursday so she had to stay another week. Her billeting food and other costs came to $269. I m not on the outside. I m a dependent and it s sup posed to be paid for she said. Another woman said everything comes out of your pocket. If they Don t have facilities Here and it s an accompanied tour they should pay for  air Force officials in Izmir said joint travel regulations provide for reimbursement Only of the transportation expenses of adult family members seeking outpatient treat ment at a Distant military Hospital. When a child is the patient the accompanying adult is reimbursed for actual expenses for transportation lodging and meals. Air Force officials said there is Only so much they can do to increase service because of limitations on three c-9s and Crews. We talk to everybody we can about getting another plane one said. In the absence of More air planes the military Airlift come this fall added stops to already scheduled routes to is photo by red grand an air Force c-9 medevac plane and Crew stand by to receive patients at hell Nikon a Greece. Assist Active duty personnel and families in areas such As Izmir Naples Simonella and Iraklion Greece. Flight work is limited for safety. Crews Are allowed to be on duty a maximum of 16 hours. We can t just Fly the planes around the clock Chong said. The 2nd aeromedical evacuation so has enough people for 14 Crews Trezza said. At least one Crew is always available for emergencies he said. During alerts such As the Twa hijacking in june and the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking in october additional personnel Are on Call. Our peacetime Mission keeps going. It an Alert gets taken out of hide Trezza said. Hospital officials at the other end of the air link said they also Are trying to improve logistics to make the Situa Tion easier on travelling patients. Or. Col Robert Gilmore chief of clinical services for the Wiesbaden Hospital toured medical facilities last fall asking about the problems of the patients and the doctors sending them. As a result Wiesbaden last month hired a Southern tier Liaison person in appointments to give priority to people on Mediterranean assignments. Capt. Robert Sherlock chief of patient affairs at incur Lik said efforts Are being made to improve billeting and other arrangements so travelling patients Don t feel so Dis placed. In Ciurlik also is trying to make sure patients from Izmir and Ankara get More flexible orders prepared so they can travel either by c-9 or c-130. Telephone difficulties and crowded calendars Are the Bane of patient affairs personnel trying to make appoint ments for patients at the army and air Force medical centers in Germany. You have to try and find a Friend in the system but that does t always work staff sgt. Jeffery Eley said before he left the medical evacuation office at the air Force Hospital at Iraklion for a new assignment. It takes a lot of  urgent and priority cases Are handled on a Hospital to Hospital basis but routine cases May be handled by the european come s joint medical regulating office. The office keeps track of 116 specialities and available Beds at All military hospitals in Europe said army maj. Lewis c. Bandy chief of Omro. A new computer system was installed this month in Europe to keep track of patient medical and administrative information that the 2nd aeromedical evacuation so needs for each flight. That information previously had to be copied by hand. Chong said the automated patient evacuation system is a Quality Assurance initiative that will reduce the possibility of errors and delays. It also will improve administrative processing he said