Monday, January 18, 2010

What can we learn from Israel's efforts in Haiti?

Attached a video link to a CNN report contrasting Israels disaster response in Haiti with the US response.
In the words of Dr.DiGennaro, a Broward county physician, "it makes you almost embarrassed being an American."
Currently, the Israelis run the only fully functioning hospital in Haiti!
Its another example that we fail to understand that disaster and emergency preparedness is not measured by the amount of $$ we throw at the problem AFTER the fact but to continuously prepare and train teams of professionals in emergency and disaster response measures.This does not require a lot of money but dedicated leadership and commitment!
In 2006 I have witnessed the training of the Israeli team on a military base and participated in multiple training sessions myself. I can attest to the fact that they have mastered the art of perfection; each step is documented in a manual and everyone knows how to work in a team and per checklist.
Why we can't do it here? Because we are talking the talk instead of walking the walk. In October 2001 I was appointed by then Governor Bush to the Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Taskforce and urged on multiple occasions to follow the Israeli model. Nothing happened. Yes, we have special teams but too few and far apart. We need local teams that train on a quarterly basis and manage their own equipment and supplies. Do we need to learn another painful lesson from the next natural disaster or do we have to memorize the phone # of the Israeli team instead?
Kudos to their bravery and tireless efforts.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/18/dnt.cohen.haiti.patients.dying.cnn

Bernd

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