August 9, 2023 – Recently, a delegation from the Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency, and Mass Casualty Situations (MCS) at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, led a workshop in Poland to provide local healthcare workers with MCS training.
Professor Miki Halberthal with Gila Hyams and Dr. Hany Bahouth with workshop participants in Poland Photography: Rambam HCC
Established in 1999, Rambam’s Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency, and Mass Casualty Situations (MCS) has cemented Rambam’s role as a world-leader in the management of trauma, emergency, and MCS. The center’s reputation has led to formidable international collaborations in over 80 countries, including most recently in India, Ethiopia, and Abu Dhabi. Thousands of health care professionals have received critical training either in Israel or their home countries—training that is saving lives.
The Polish branch of the European Leadership Network (ELNET) invited a delegation from Rambam’s Teaching Center to give an MCS workshop at the Florian Ceynowa Specialist Hospital in Wejherowo, near Gdansk—one of Poland’s major cities. The intensive two-day workshop was aimed at improving the emergency medical system in Poland’s municipal areas.
The idea behind the workshop was initiated by a senior municipal official who had previously visited Rambam and witnessed the Rambam’s emergency preparedness program first-hand. He immediately understood the importance of emergency preparedness for his home country and began working toward bringing a delegation from the Teaching Center to Poland. In addition to providing Polish medical professionals with MCS training, the workshop would advance bilateral relations between Israel and Poland.
The Rambam delegation included Professor Michael Halberthal, General Director and CEO of Rambam and Chairman of the Teaching Center; Mrs. Gila Hyams, Director of Nursing and Director of the Teaching Center; and Dr. Hany Bahouth, Director of Rambam’s Division of Emergency Medicine and Trauma, Medical Director of Teaching Center. Participating in the workshop were 60 healthcare professionals from Poland and the Ukraine.
Rambam’s Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency and MCS offers an educational program aimed at all professionals involved in the organization and treatment of mass casualty incidents: pre-hospital forces, hospital staff, physicians, nurses, and administrators. Training programs are tailored to the needs of each organization. Since 1999, thousands have participated in the programs in Israel and abroad.
Photo: Professor Miki Halberthal with Gila Hyams and Dr. Hany Bahouth with Polish hospital officials Photography: Rambam HCC