IN SERVICE TO THE WORLD
He takes medical skills to Iraq and back
K
evin Reichmuth, MD, is a husband, a father of four and a partner with Nebraska Pulmonary Specialties. He’s also a colonel in the Nebraska Army National Guard who’s seen his share of action overseas. A native of Columbus, Dr. Reichmuth enlisted in the infantry in 1990. While in medical school, he says, “I decided I wanted to become an officer, so I shifted from infantry to the medical side.” Dr. Reichmuth graduated in 1999 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine, Omaha, then completed a residency and fellowship in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. While serving in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, he made two combat deployments to Iraq — first in 2004 and again in 2008. “In 2004, we were in a very isolated location south of Baghdad,” Dr. Reichmuth recalls. “We were getting lots of casualties and we did everything. We took care of less seriously wounded patients there, and others we stabilized and moved by Medivac to higherechelon care.” Conditions were very different from a pristine ICU. “We had to make do with tents and minimal lighting. I remember cleaning wounds; you have sterile gloves on, then the wind blows in and you see dust swirling around.” In 2008, Dr. Reichmuth was re-deployed. “I did more pulmonary critical care that tour, in addition to combat medicine,” he says. After the second deployment, he and Tracy, his wife, relocated their family from Madison to Lincoln. He has been affiliated with Bryan
30 Winter 2013
Dr. Kevin Reichmuth (left) gets ready to help a wounded soldier at a military hospital in Iraq in 2004. Most medical team members near the combat zone are armed at all times. Health ever since. “I was amazed — and continue to be amazed — by the state-of-the-art care available here in Lincoln, and Bryan Health is a huge part of that.” In 2010, Dr. Reichmuth made his third deployment to Iraq — this time as a lieutenant colonel and brigade surgeon for the Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. “Each deployment has been so different,” he says. “I enjoy military strategy and operations, which I did when I was in the infantry. This time, I got to do a lot more of that.” Amanda Young, a physician’s assistant from Nebraska Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, also was on that deployment. “We teamed up,” says Dr. Reichmuth. “We did a lot of medical ops, figuring out how to maintain medical readiness for the
brigade and support the mission.” He adds, “Civilian and military experiences really strengthen each other. You do a lot of things you wouldn’t normally do at home when you’re the one who’s there on the front lines to do them. “You also learn to put things in perspective. It’s made me able to stay pretty calm and collected in situations where it’s easy to lose your cool.” Dr. Reichmuth is grateful to all those who have supported him. “I couldn’t have done any of this,” he insists, “without the support of my family and my partners and everyone here at Bryan. “People checked on Tracy and our four children while I was away. And I got whole boxes of letters and goodies while in Iraq, which really boosts morale. You may wonder when you write a letter if it will do any good. I can tell you, yes, it does! “And my wife has been an angel through all of this. I give all credit to her, our friends and colleagues and to the Lord for everything I’ve been able to do.” On his first two deployments, Dr. Reichmuth brought back American flags that had flown over his area of operation in Iraq. On his most recent deployment, he discovered that flags could be carried on unmanned Predator drones as they flew above enemy territory. “I wanted one of those flags to bring back to Bryan,” he says. “Tracy helped make a display for it, which we presented to the staff when I returned.” If you’re visiting Nebraska Pulmonary Specialties on 8th floor of the Bryan Medical Plaza, you can see it for yourself. n