Army Specialist Saaid Yohannes of the 4-1 FA SVC has been stationed in the Sunni Triangle war zone in Iraq for the last six months. On Tuesday, November 1, he was able to see and interact with his son, David, during David's first birthday party held at St. Louis Children's Hospital (SLCH). SPC Yohanne's wife, Rachel, was in town from Ft. Riley, KS, along with David's two-year-old brother, Joshua, and several other family members.
The gathering was arranged through St. Louis Children's Hospital and the Freedom Calls Foundation. The Freedom Calls Foundation is a public charity that has established a communications network that provides state of the art video conferencing, telephone and internet services to enable U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep in touch with their families and loved ones here at home.
The technology was provided to SLCH by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, through Missouri Telehealth, in order to link Missouri hospitals in the event of a disaster. The program uses a videoconferencing communications network to support disaster preparedness, immediate communication and remotely provide clinical services during disasters. It is also intended to provide assistance in planning and preparing for a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) attack.