Sunday, April 15, 2007
While Americans worry these days about identity theft, Iraqi patients at the 399th Combat Support Hospital come in with virtually no identity.
Hence, the "Pseudo Soc," Army talk for the Iraqi equivalent of a Social Security number.
"They don't have any identifying number of any kind," said Capt. Brian Landry of Turner, chief of the 399th's patient administration department. "Most Iraqis don't even know their birthday. They might know the month, but not the day."
So, to track them as they move throughout the Army's medical system, Iraqi soldiers and citizens get a "Pseudo Soc": The first three numbers signify the military hospital (there are six in Iraq) to which they were admitted, followed by two zeroes, followed by a four-digit number assigned progressively to each patient.
"They get a plastic bracelet, so at least as long as they're with us, we know instantly who they are and can access their medical records," Landry said.
Landry, whose civilian job is community relations coordinator for Central Maine Medical Center's acute physical rehabilitation unit, has also become an expert on the one way Iraqis do identify themselves -- a complex assortment of names that reflect everything from heritage to place of origin.
"So far," he said, "we've come up with six different spellings for Mohammed."
Good thing the 399th doesn't bill.
GRAB A WRENCH: In addition to talented doctors and nurses, every combat support hospital needs a good repairman.
For the 399th, that would be Sgt. Mark Dowling of Bangor.
When the hospital's CT scanner blew a couple of months ago, Dowling, a medical maintenance technician, was the first to hear about it. Problem was, a high-voltage transformer had blown -- and that meant ordering the new part and summoning a certified Toshiba technician to come fix it.
The part arrived. Then the technician arrived. But when he looked at the part, he said it was the wrong one and left -- promising to complete the repair on his next round (whenever that might be).
Enter Sgt. Dowling.
"One night I was looking at the part and realized it was the right part after all," Dowling said.
"The next day, we put it back in and it worked."
Let's hear it for Maine ingenuity?
"Nah," Dowling said. "If it was Maine ingenuity, I would have done it with duct tape."
BREAKING A SWEAT: Finally, a 399th sports report.
The Mainiacs softball team is 1-1, having lost its first game by three runs and won its second in a 13-2 trouncing of the 82nd Airborne.
The Mainiacs basketball team just finished its season with an up-and-down 5-7 record.
Then there's Sgt. Michael Veilleux of Lewiston, who works as a surgical technician in the 399th's operating room. He was the lone Maine player who made the Assassins -- the elite basketball squad that represents the entire 399th Combat Support Hospital.
Veilleux, a guard and small forward who played high school ball from 1996-2000 at Eastgate Christian Academy in New Gloucester, was the fourth-highest scorer on his team with an average of 12 points per game.
"We went 13-5," he said. "Including three games into playoffs. We lost the third one in overtime."
Did he miss not playing with his fellow Mainers, who formed the Maniacs after they failed to make the Assassins?
Veilleux shook his head and smiled.
"Those guys?" he chuckled. "They're leftovers."
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Michelle Bolen
(Wife of a 399ther)report abuse
Your "Sis"report abuse
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