The first time Dr. Jeff Goodman, known to most simply as Doc Goodman, visited Nasiriya was in early April. He entered southern Iraq from Kuwait with International Medical Corps’ rapid response team in order to do a thorough assessment of the hospitals in a town that had seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
Doc Goodman recalls his first night in town with some unease. With no hotels open for business, the International Medical Corps team had to set-up tents on hard concrete in an area that had no shade, no running water and certainly no electricity. But this was nothing compared to the wind and dust which was so intense at times that the sun was completely blotted from the sky. One afternoon it started to rain but with the dense mix of wind, dust and water, he remembers that it was quite literally raining mud.
Aside from the physical discomforts, the other big challenge was the situation of the town, which was completely deserted. All life had been forced inside because of the unstable environment; even stray dogs were staying put. The lack of electricity and water was causing a severe increase in the number of diarrhea cases among children, but the hospitals were unable to provide adequate care – not only had they been severely looted but only four out of 70 nurses at the general hospital were working due to security concerns.
All of this seems a distant memory now. Doc Goodman, a 16-year veteran of International Medical Corps’ emergency response, returned from that initial assessment and within days was back in Nasiriya, this time to start-up International Medical Corps’ program from scratch. One month has passed since then and everything has changed – not only is the town of Nasiriya buzzing with activity but International Medical Corps’ team Nasiriya is now fully operational, a long way from the days of running its programs out of a tent.
As team leader, Doc Goodman had his hands full. His first priority was delivering badly needed medical supplies to the three main hospitals in Nasiriya: the general; the maternal & child; and the surgical. He also knew that International Medical Corps had more medical supplies en route but the central warehouse was dysfunctional and would have to be repaired quickly. Lastly, the hospitals and health clinics were days away from running out of oxygen and were looking to International Medical Corps for help.
Luckily, Doc Goodman had three extremely talented and determined staff on his start-up team – Dr. Jamil Bayram, Dr. Ahmed Kashmiri and Omar Taha – all Arabic speakers. In those first couple weeks, they worked long hours and made things happen despite many obstacles. With two rooms at the not-quite-one-star Al-Janoob hotel and only one International Medical Corps vehicle between the four of them, co-ordination was key. But within days, the people of Nasiriya were benefiting from their work: medication was delivered, oxygen was procured locally and the central warehouse was up and running again.
At this point, the doctors and nurses are back at work and rehabilitation of Nasiriya’s health care system is underway, but the long term needs remain tremendous. International Medical Corps is currently focusing its efforts on training medical staff in emergency care, water and sanitation education, and supply and equipment distribution. It is also closely coordinating with the other NGOs in town so that efforts are not duplicated.
Sitting with Doc Goodman on the porch of International Medical Corps’ newly acquired, rented guesthouse reveals a changed man. Even though he has volunteered with International Medical Corps many times before, he has never played the role of team leader and certainly never started a new program from the bottom up. His team has now expanded significantly, local staff have been hired and the people of Nasiriya have embraced International Medical Corps’ presence. Smiles and waves greet International Medical Corps vehicles in town and neighborhood children wait patiently for staff to get home at night so that they can play football and Frisbee as the sun sets in the dusty horizon.
Doc Goodman remained in Iraq until recently, and is now back at his private practice in Kauai, Hawaii. He plans to return to Iraq in the near future.