Civil affairs surveys local Iraqi hospital

SALMAN PAK, Iraq, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. military officials with a civil affairs battalion said work is under way to restore to working order a local hospital 15 miles outside of Baghdad.

Army Maj. John Wolfe, team leader of a civil affairs battalion working in Salman Pak, said members of the Iraqi National Police have used the hospital as a barracks and headquarters since 2005.

The hospital hasn't functioned in a full capacity since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the American Forces Press Service said Friday.

Wolfe said the Iraqi police were "forced by circumstance" to use the hospital as a temporary headquarters in face of the security situation and inadequate resources.

The improved security that allowed the U.S. strategy to shift part of its focus from military operations to reconstruction prompted the civil affairs group to negotiate with council leaders to find an alternative location for the police force and begin to revitalize the hospital.

Wolfe said community leaders and maintenance crews toured the hospital with the battalion to survey the area for reconstruction needs.

The Iraqi Health Ministry already provided funding for basic improvements, such as functional water and various fixtures, and Wolfe said more funding was expected as work continued.

Local Iraqi security forces provide security to the hospital so local residents can see three area doctors who work at the facility on a temporary basis.