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Local Problems, International Solutions

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In the wake of a natural disaster, representatives of Rambam’s Teaching Center for Trauma Emergency and Mass Casualty Situations, travelled to Chile to teach local professionals how to deal with mass casualty events. In turn, the delegation members learned how to cope with earthquakes

Israelis in South America are widespread, but not every day do they travel to the Latin American continent to share life saving knowledge and experience with local professionals. A team from The Teaching Center for Trauma Emergency and Mass Casualty Situations at Rambam returned last week from Santiago, the capital of Chile. There, it led a special five-day course for 300 medical personnel, among them senior members of Chile’s air and ground forces, as well as representatives of its rescue units and police force. The course focused on managing mass casualty events. News of the Israeli delegation spread, and 12 doctors and nurses from Paraguay also showed up.

Just four months ago, Chile was hit by a powerful earthquake that registered 8.8 on the Richter scale. In the wake of the earthquake, a tsunami hit the country’s southern coast, causing enormous damage. Residents of the area are still coping with the aftermath of the catastrophe, which destroyed entire areas and caused the collapse of numerous.

Ironically, the Rambam team had been invited to lead the course more than half a year ago. The disaster revealed a lack of preparedness on the part of many Chilean bodies to handle mass casualty events, and the need for Israeli knowhow and experience became all the more critical.

The course was initiated by Dr. Alfredo Mizrahi, a Jewish Chilean physician who works in Las Condes Hospital in Santiago. Dr Mizrahi, a long-time friend of Rambam, initiated the first such course in Chile two years ago, on organizing a trauma center. The recent course, held under the auspices of the Jewish community, included lectures and workshops. Three Rambam representatives led the delegation: Dr Moshe Michaelson, director of the Trauma Unit, Gila Hyams, head of the Teaching Center for Trauma and Mass Casualty Situations and Nurit Naeh, director of Public Relations. The delegation also included Dr Leon Poles from Kaplan Medical Center, an expert in chemical warfare and mass casualty events, Dr Amir Blumenfeld, former head of IDF Trauma Unit and adviser to the Ministry of Health for M.C.S, and Mr Chaim Rafalowski, the Chilean-born representative of emergency medicine for Magen David Adom. “The delegation members presented a broad array of ways to deal with these events, “said Dr Michaelson, adding, “The response was incredible -- the participants were hungry for knowledge. They didn’t stop showing interest and asking questions, and at the end of the course we received many offers for cooperation and additional courses.”