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Show Local doctors start over By MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer BOUNTIFUL Two Bountiful physicians just back from a four-month four-month deployment to Germany with their Army Reserve Re-serve Unit as a result of Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, will resume private practice Monday. Dr. Val R. Hansen and Dr. Perry T.. Walters were denlnvnri uncertainty over what might happen or what might be expected," he said. Despite the anxiety, there were some positives. "It was really good the way people from reserve units all over the states were able to blend and work together," he said. Walters arrived in Germany a month after Hansen after attending an officer basic course in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and was promptly assigned to Frankfurt 97th General Hospital where he worked in the urology department. "I was lucky. A lot of other doctors doc-tors had to work on the periphery of their specialty," he said. Walters was also lucky in another regard. The number of wounded from the gulf war was relatively light, just as it was in Stuttgart. Walters was able to enjoy some precious free time touring the city and fell in love with Frankfurt, a city he describes as dynamic. "If you think of Salt Lake City as a tepid bath with your nanny, then Frankfurt is being in a hot tub with your lover or spouse,' he explained, laughing once again. Walters was also able to visit the medieval city of Rothenberg, Bad Hamburg and his brother stationed in Bamberg. Hansen was able to visit Salzburg, Austria and enjoy some skiing in Garmisch and Berchtesgaden, Germany Ger-many during his occasional days off, which he said were few and far between. be-tween. Both men are lieutenant colonels. Hansen has served in the Army Reserve Re-serve for almost three years, Walters slightly less than three. Walters also served in the regular Army from 1961-64. All jokes aside, Walters said reservists reser-vists need to be given more protection because of the financial hardships a lengthy deployment often brings. The Soldiers Sailor Act offers some protection pro-tection such as allowing soldiers to pay 6 percent interest on loans taken out before activation. But Walters, who said he has been financially devastated dev-astated by the deployment, thinks it is not enough. Hansen's deployment was not as much of a financial grind. The internist inter-nist said he had friends who are physicians, and who were willing to cover for him in his absence. He acknowledged a probable lull in cash flow, but expects to be able to bounce back quickly. "I've had really good cooperation with creditors, the medical association and malpractice company," he remarked. The greatest difficulty Hansen has experienced has been the abrupt change of pace from military duty back to a civilian schedule. Hansen arrived in Germany in mid-December mid-December and was sent to 5th General Gen-eral Hospital in Stuttgart, where he joined the internal medicine department depart-ment and supervised the intensive care department. Expecting a massive influx of casualties when conflict broke out in the Persian Gulf, Hansen said the staff had 500 beds ready and waiting. But the number of casualties and wounded were so light, he said, that most went unused. The wounded that were sent to the hospital were quickly returned to duty or medevacked to care facilities in the states. Hansen described the time immediately im-mediately preceding the conflict in Iraq as a period of great anxiety and uncertainty. "There was a lot of along with other VAL HANSEN 328th General Hospital Reserve unit members last December. Both men returned to Utah last Sunday. Dr. Hansen is an internal medicine specialist, and Dr. Walters is a urologist. For Walters, full-time military duty meant leaving his wife, Margie, and his private practice behind, and taking a large cut in pay. "I pretty much had to lock my doors and flush my practice prac-tice down the toilet, which is an appropriate way for a urologist to describe it,' he said laughingly. Unlike some reservist re-servist doctors. Waltera had no one to cover for him in his absence. That means he is having to start over again now that he is back. Walters said the next three to six months will be very difficult because he will literally have no income until patients' insurance payments come in, which takes anywhere from two to four months. Until then, Walters finds himself working with creditors to make arrangements ar-rangements for payment until he can get a positive cash flow going. He said most creditors have been helpful and understanding. "It's a good thing because I have no money tc pay bills. So, they can line up in bajikjnjptcy court or wait until I get cash flow. he said jokingly. |