Story and photo by CAPT. JARROD MORRIS/U.S. ARMY
The 201st Afghan National Army Corps hosted a ceremony marking the opening of the Gamberi Regional Medical Hospital (GRMH) at Tactical Base Gamberi in May 2015.
Leaders from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), the hospital staff, and members of the Afghan media attended the ceremony, as well as leaders and advisers from Train, Advise and Assist Command-East. Those in attendance included Maj. Gen. Dr. Abdul Razzaq Saiwash, the ANA surgeon general; Maj. Gen. Mohammad Zaman Waziri, the 201st Corps commander; and Brig. Gen. Gulabshah Shirzad, the GRMH commander.
The newly opened hospital is collocated with the 201st Corps headquarters and is capable of providing ANDSF with specialty care surgery and medical care in eastern Afghanistan. It includes 100 beds, an emergency room, a helicopter landing zone, two operating rooms, two intensive care units, a laboratory, pharmacy, a dental clinic, optometrist care, an outpatient clinic, and an obstetrics and gynecology practitioner.
The hospital is important because there is no other regional hospital for the ANDSF in the east. The hospital will provide care for ANDSF personnel and their families. Prior to the GRMH, injured Afghan Soldiers and police officers were taken to civilian hospitals in the region.
“We would take injured Soldiers in Nuristan to Kunar, then Nangarhar, and if critical to Kabul for treatment, but now this problem has been resolved,” Waziri said. “This hospital is not only for military personnel, it will also serve intelligence forces, police and all security personnel.”
“All sections of the hospital are ready to function,” Saiwash said. “Its administrative affairs are 80 percent complete, and the staff will be complete in a month’s time. The hospital is ready for all kinds of surgical operations.”
Saiwash said the military hospital is also capable of providing treatment to civilians in some circumstances. He said they would treat civilians injured during security operations, major traffic accidents and other serious events.
Afghanistan has five military hospitals like the GRMH, each providing services for a specific region. The hospital opening is considered a notable achievement for the ANDSF. Waziri said: “We thank the U.S. and NATO for assisting in the project.”