Blog Posts from December, 2010

Over the years I developed an appreciation of the little things in life.

Lt. Col. Charles Davis, the ODC for Croatia, visits a one-day-old child in one of the donated incubators. (Courtesy photo)

Recently, the United States European Command, in collaboration with the Office of Defense Cooperation Zagreb, Croatia, and US Embassy Zagreb, Croatia, donated two neonatal incubators to the General Hospital in Knin, Croatia. On average, the hospital delivers more than 300 babies a year. Twenty percent of these require incubator support. Before the donation, the hospital had to use two older incubators that often malfunctioned; this placed Croatia’s most precious national assets (the newborns) in grave risk. These state-of-the-art incubators will ensure quality care and support to those little ones who are most vulnerable.

Knin was once the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia during the reign of King Zvonimir in the 11th century.  More recently, Knin was deeply affected by the wars of the 1990's, a period during which many of the Serb inhabitants left the area. The U.S. Embassy is encouraging the resettlement of returning refugees who see a hospital as a prime requirement if they are going to raise a family in Knin.  The city is also important as a transportation hub with railroads from the rest of Dalmatia and its cities of Zadar, Split and Šibenik passing through Knin, going north to the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb.

In addition to the two incubators, five shipping containers of medical supplies and office furniture were also donated to the hospital. The total value of the donation was around $500,000. Taken separately, these donations don’t add up to much, but their combined affect results in a change from a sparingly stocked medical facility to a well stocked one.

EUCOM, ODC, and Croatian military personnel joined with Knin city and hospital officials for the official ceremony presenting the Knin Hospital with the two new incubators for neonatal care and with other medical supplies. (Photo courtesy of the Public Affairs Office of the City of Knin)

This is not the first time this hospital received the attention of the U.S. military. In a separate effort during the summer of 2009, United States Air Forces Europe engineers, working in close cooperation with the Croatian military engineers of the Guards Motorized Brigade headquartered in Knin, refurbished a large portions of the hospital’s children's wing, painted the interior while cleaning up the exterior, replaced radiators throughout the hospital with a more hygienic, efficient model, and repaired the ventilation system. The hospital’s proximity to the Guards Motorized Brigade’s nearby Crvena Zemlja training area (Red Land), which is used by U.S. forces during exercises, provided an additional reason for the U.S. military to invest in the facility.

So many important things in life are decided by the little things. As a parent myself, I don’t know how I would even be able to put a price on the health and well being of my own little ones that bring my life so much joy and meaning. I think I can understand the gratitude and excitement of the Knin community generated by this donation as well as the wisdom of the Department of Defense to sustain its relationship with this community.

MAJ C.L. Durk
J-4 Medical Readiness Division
U.S. European Command