TY - JOUR
T1 - Extending a helping hand
T2 - A comparison of Israel defense forces medical corps humanitarian aid field hospitals
AU - Glick, Yuval
AU - Baruch, Erez N.
AU - Tsur, Avishai M.
AU - Berg, Amy L.
AU - Yifrah, Dror
AU - Yitzhak, Avraham
AU - Dagan, David
AU - Bader, Tarif
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Israel Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - Background: During the past 6 years the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) deployed three humanitarian delegation field hospitals (HDFHs) in disaster zones around the globe: Haiti (2010), the Philippines (2013), and Nepal (2015). Objectives: To compare the activity of these HDFHs and the characteristics of the patients they served. Methods: This retrospective study was based on the HDFHs’ operation logs and patients medical records. The study population included both the staff who participated and the patients who were treated in any of the three HDFHs. Results: The Philippine HDFH was a "hybrid" type, i.e., it was integrated with a local hospital. Both the Haitian and the Nepali HDFHs were the “stand-alone” type, i.e., were completely autonomic in resources and in function. The Nepali HDFH had a larger staff, departed from Israel 4 hours earlier and was active 7 hours earlier as compared to the Haitian one. In total, 5465 patients, 55% of them female, were treated in the three HDFHs. In Haiti, Nepal and the Philippines, disaster-related injuries accounted for 66%, 26% and 2% of the cases, respectively. Disaster-related injuries presented mainly in the first days of the HDFHs’ activity. Conclusions: The next HDFH should be planned to care for a significant proportion of routine medical illnesses. The IDF-MC continuous learning process will enable future HDFHs to save more lives as we “extend a helping hand” to foreign populations in crisis.
AB - Background: During the past 6 years the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) deployed three humanitarian delegation field hospitals (HDFHs) in disaster zones around the globe: Haiti (2010), the Philippines (2013), and Nepal (2015). Objectives: To compare the activity of these HDFHs and the characteristics of the patients they served. Methods: This retrospective study was based on the HDFHs’ operation logs and patients medical records. The study population included both the staff who participated and the patients who were treated in any of the three HDFHs. Results: The Philippine HDFH was a "hybrid" type, i.e., it was integrated with a local hospital. Both the Haitian and the Nepali HDFHs were the “stand-alone” type, i.e., were completely autonomic in resources and in function. The Nepali HDFH had a larger staff, departed from Israel 4 hours earlier and was active 7 hours earlier as compared to the Haitian one. In total, 5465 patients, 55% of them female, were treated in the three HDFHs. In Haiti, Nepal and the Philippines, disaster-related injuries accounted for 66%, 26% and 2% of the cases, respectively. Disaster-related injuries presented mainly in the first days of the HDFHs’ activity. Conclusions: The next HDFH should be planned to care for a significant proportion of routine medical illnesses. The IDF-MC continuous learning process will enable future HDFHs to save more lives as we “extend a helping hand” to foreign populations in crisis.
KW - Disaster medicine
KW - Humanitarian delegation field hospitals (HDFHs)
KW - International cooperation
KW - Mobile health unit
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994537755&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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C2 - 28471615
AN - SCOPUS:84994537755
SN - 1565-1088
VL - 18
SP - 581
EP - 585
JO - Israel Medical Association Journal
JF - Israel Medical Association Journal
IS - 10
ER -