Israeli aid arrives in Haiti, field hospital set up

[IndianaGreen]

ABC News was just reporting tonight about how quickly and efficiently, the Israelis were able to set up field hospitals and started to treat Haitians, all the while the US relief effort is floundering.

Kudos to Israel!

Israeli aid arrives in Haiti, field hospital set up

The Israeli delegation landed in the capital of Port-Au-Prince on Friday evening (15 January) and established its operation center in a soccer field near the airport.

Two teams, comprised of search and rescue personnel and canine operators from the IDF canine unit were sent out on rescue missions. The first team was sent to the Haiti UN headquarters in order to assist in rescuing survivors. The rescue teams are working in cooperation with local authorities in order to reach disaster struck areas where survivors can be located and assisted.

The IDF Medical and Rescue Team set up a field hospital in Port-Au-Prince and is beginning to treat patients there. The field hospital is prepared to receive dozens of ambulances evacuating injured children from the different disaster struck areas. Between Friday night and Saturday, dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment were unloaded and the field hospital set up.

On Saturday (16 Jan) the Israeli team rescued a top income tax official from the government office building which collapsed in the earthquake. The official, who had been trapped underneath the rubble for four days, is currently being treated at the Israeli field hospital. (see AP video)

The field hospital includes 40 doctors, 25 nurses, paramedics, a pharmacy, a children's ward, a radiology department, an intensive care unit, an emergency room, two operating rooms, a surgical department, an internal department and a maternity ward. The hospital can treat approximately 500 patients each day, and in addition will perform preliminary surgeries.

In the field hospital set up in Port-au-Prince, members of the IDF medical staff are in a race against time to save lives. The Medical Corps treated about 100 injured people. 30% of the injured in the hospital are in serious condition, 50% are moderately injured and the rest are lightly injured. More than half of the injured are under the age of 16. The majority of injuries are limb injuries and bone fractures. 10 life saving surgeries were performed.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israeli_aid_arrives_Haiti_17-Jan-2010.htm

CNN Video:

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