Integration of foreign and local medical staff in a disaster area: The La Ceiba, Honduras experience

International medical aid after natural disasters may take various forms, ranging from self-sufficient military forces to single experts or specialists who function primarily as advisors. A model integrating foreign and local medical staff has not been previously reported. In response to the call for international aid by the Honduran government in the wake of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, Israel sent medical supplies and a 10-member team of medical professionals. The aim of the present paper is to describe the unique Israeli approach to providing health care in disaster areas by integrating foreign and local medical staff, and to discuss its advantages and disadvantages. The paper focuses on the experience of the two emergency medicine physicians on the team who were assigned to the Atlantida General Hospital in La Ceiba.