prepared for the worst

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Prepared for the Worst

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Rambam Health Care campus (RHCC) recently turned its parking lot into a mass shower facility, aimed to detoxify victims of chemical warfare. As part of a national drill in readiness for chemical war, Rambam simulated the conditions necessary for absorbing and treating large numbers of injured civilians. In this effort, the medical center joined forces with Magen David Adom (MADA), the Fire Department and the Home Front Command (HFC).

Right to Left – General Craig McKinley, Commander of The USA National Guard, General Yair Golan, IDF Home Front Commander, Prof. Rafael Beyar, Director of Rambam Health Care Campus, during the drill at RHCC
Photo credit: Pioter Fliter.

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, Rambam was transformed into a treatment center for the victims of chemical warfare. This step was taken as part of a national drill designed to check Israel’s readiness for war. Called “Turning Point”, the drill simulated a scenario in which chemical weapons are targeted against the civilian population. Along with Rambam, Magen David Adom (MADA), the Fire Department and the Home Front Command (HFC) were participants.

With three major goals, the drill was aimed to refresh the knowhow, techniques and equipment of the medical staff, impart knowledge to the younger generation of personnel and improve readiness for wartime.

During the drill, the hospital admitted 250 “injured patients”, among them soldiers and first aid mannequins exposed to chemical weapons. The participating medical staff, dressed in gas-proof suits and masks, detoxified the patients in showers set up outside the hospital, then administered antidotes and further treatment.

“This drill was very complicated,” said one of its organizers, Dr. Shlomi Israelit, director of RHCC’s Department of Emergency and Urgent Care and head of the hospital’s emergency headquarters. “Many people from the medical staff were involved, and 100 guests, including military and medical personnel from Israel and abroad, were observers.” In addition, some 100 doctors from Beer Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center viewed the proceedings and provided feedback.

Together with Dr. Israelit, other main forces behind the drill at Rambam were Liora Otits, coordinator of Mass Casualty Scenarios - Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (MCS-CBRN); Kobi Moskovitz, logistics manager of MCS-CBRN; and Prof. Shimon Reisner, deputy director of RHCC.
During the drill, which takes place once every five years, Rambam services and clinics operated on a partial scale, some elective activities were cancelled, and ambulances and buildings recruited for use.

The drill is just one part of a series of activities related to disaster preparation in which Rambam
participates. Regularly, the hospital takes part in related conferences and joint workshops with other involved bodies.

Designated a level one trauma facility, Rambam is responsible for admitting the most severely injured patients in times of natural disaster or war. Currently, the hospital is constructing an underground emergency facility, which should be ready for operation in three years. There, some 1,700 patients can be absorbed, and in the case of chemical warfare, detoxified, treated and hospitalized.