ROY:  At the time, as I recall, we had nearly 200 what we called primary health aides, and maybe half that many alternates that were trained.  Maybe -- maybe more than that.  Maybe -- an equal number of alternate health aides that were not as well trained, but could stand in when the primary was not able to perform. 

And the system consisted of a book of standing orders, what to do in case of emergencies, a radio that they could talk to the service unit hospital with, and -- and get more complicated, complex instructions as -- as necessary. 

They could decide -- the health aide was sort of the eyes and ears of the physician and they would, together, decide whether the person needed to be evacuated or -- and so forth.  The health aides could administer first aid.  They could administer some pretty sophisticated stabilization, you know, things. 

They did some preventative health, performed well-baby clinics, they gave immunizations.  So they really provided for, I would say, the great bulk of the primary health care delivered at the village level. 

So here was a brand new program coming, bursting onto the scene, the first of its kind really in the world, and it was intended to provide first line medical care to sparsely populated, large geographic areas.  And so it kind of became a model. 

In later years, I understand, and even while I was there, people would visit from Australia and from Canada and from Russia and China and elsewhere where there were scattered populations that required or needed a health system, a health delivery system.