Nearly one year has passed by and Luong Thi Toi, a local woman in Hamlet 6, Ia Dal commune, has yet to forget the terrifying moment when she was bitten by a venomous snake. She was able to escape from the "death scythe" thanks to the doctors and medical staff of Unit 716 Infirmary.
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Lieutenant, Doctor Nguyen Van Dat provides health examination for patients. |
The woman recalled that on April 22, 2023, while tapping rubber, a venomous snake bit her hand. Just a few minutes later, Toi started to feel nauseous, her heart was pounding, and her hands and feet were sweating. She was immediately taken to the infirmary by her relatives and was promptly given first aid by doctors and medical staff before being transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for further treatment. “Doctors at Cho Ray Hospital said that I may have died without the timely proper first aid of Unit 716 Infirmary,” said Toi.
Moong Thi Guong is another person receiving timely treatment from the infirmary’s medical staff. The Kho Mu ethnic woman said that she had high fever, and medicines did not bring her temperature down. Since she was worried, her families took her to Unit 716 Infirmary. Thanks to the timely care, she recovered and was discharged from the infirmary after one week. “The military doctors were good at their expertise and gave wholehearted care to me. They instructed me to keep surrounding environment clean and eat cooked food and drink boiled water,” said Guong.
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Unit 176 Infirmary coordinates with Military Hospital 15 to give free health examination to locals. |
Luong Thi Toi and Moong Thi Guong are two out of the thousands of officers, troops, staff, and defense workers of Unit 716 and local people who have considered Unit 716 Infirmary a “fulcrum” in healthcare. From a small medical establishment with just six members, the size of the infirmary has been significantly enhanced with more advanced equipment.
According to Lieutenant, Doctor Nguyen Van Dat, Head of Unit 716 Infirmary, the unit has gone through numerous difficulties to have patients’ trust like today. He recalled that on the first days since Ia H'Drai district was established, the grassroots healthcare system was poor. Meanwhile, workers of Unit 716 and some households emigrated from the Northern provinces were easily stricken by malaria since they were not familiar with the climate and land conditions. At that time, the infirmary's doctors and nurses both performed their professionalism and went to villages and households to disseminate information and instruct locals on how to prevent and control malaria and other seasonal diseases.
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The infirmary regularly exchanges experience to enhance their professional competence. |
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and developed complicatedly, the infirmary well applied pandemic prevention and control measures and actively assisted localities in carrying out the dual tasks. Since 2021, the infirmary has received 2,260 people. Thanks to timely first aid by the unit’s doctors and nurses, many locals have been saved.
Apart from providing healthcare, the infirmary has actively coordinated with preventive health centers of districts and communes and border posts to organized dissemination of knowledge related to disease prevention and control, birth-control, maternal and child healthcare, and contraceptive methods to raise people's awareness of healthcare. Thanks to that, workers and people in Ia Dal commune, Ia H'Drai district always consider Unit 716 Infirmary a reliable medical establishment.
Translated by Tran Hoai