HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS
Like many of you, we have been monitoring the events in Haiti. We have also received inquiries from some of you asking if there is any potential role for us. We do not have a role in an international deployment.
We are all moved by the anguish and desperation of the survivors. Likewise, some of us can’t help but to identify with the responders and can only imagine what they must be enduring. We are glad for the success of the USAR teams. Most of us can’t really imagine the grim reality of amputations with improvised cutting tools, in some cases without anesthesia. We know that without pain control, antibiotics, proper hygiene and nutrition, and food and shelter, that the near future is pretty grim too.
As you know, there are numerous international medical response teams that are well experienced and most capable of managing the extraordinary medical mission challenges on the ground. These teams are exceedingly well trained and prepared for international travel. They are expert at setting up medical operations in the most austere of environments under the most dire of circumstances. The BEST thing you can to do right now is to donate money to a reputable organization that is providing aid. Perhaps we could also take a moment to remember the lost, the survivors, and the responders in our thoughts and prayers.
There is something else you can do as well. Renew your commitment to preparedness for yourself, your family, community and to IMERT-INVENT. If you don’t have an emergency plan of action for yourself and family, do it now. This is a unique opportunity to enhance clinical awareness by reviewing the clinical manifestations that occur with trauma, crush injuries, and disease. Go to www.cdc.gov and sign up for their clinical briefings. We also have the link on our website. Consider attending disaster related courses and conferences to be sure you are in the loop. We have partnered with EMSC in offering the pediatric triage course JUMPSTART, as well as other training opportunities.
For those of you on the mission support side of things, the crucial role you play is even more apparent. Watching the challenges of logistics, communications and other infrastructure necessities is a reminder to all of us that we can’t do it without you. This is an opportune moment for you as well to renew your commitment.
As always, thank you for your continued commitment to serve the people of Illinois in the event of a disaster.
Mary Connelly
Director of Team Operations IMERT-INVENT
There are no plans to deploy to Haiti at this time. One immediate way to help is through monetary donation. However, be careful how you do so.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is advising people to be careful when evaluating donation programs related to the earthquake in Haiti as one security firm is already seeing scam e-mails circulate, such as one from a fake British Red Cross.
People should apply a "critical eye" to requests for financial donations following Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti. "Make contributions directly to well-known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf," the FBI said in its advisory.
We do not endorse any specific charitable organization. Here is an ouside link for a list of reputable charities.
We will continue send out updates through e-mail and post on our Facebook Page. If you have not received an e-mail from the IMERT-INVENT office in the past week, please contact us to ensure your correct e-mail is on file.
New CDC documents for Disaster Relief and Response
UPDATED: Emergency Wound Management for Healthcare Professionals. These principles can assist with wound management and aid in the prevention of amputations. In the wake of a flood disaster resources are limited. Following these basic wound management steps can help prevent further medical problems.
NEW: Public Health Issues and Priorities for the Haiti Earthquake. Based on previous experience with disasters in Haiti and earthquakes in other countries, CDC has a general understanding of what the public health needs will be in Haiti following the January 12th earthquake. The following projections and recommendations take into account Haiti's socio-economic and demographic situation, and the health of its people prior to the earthquake.
NEW: Guidance for Relief Workers and Others Traveling to Haiti for Earthquake Response. This notice is to advise relief workers and other personnel traveling to Haiti to assist with the humanitarian response following the January 12 earthquake near Port-au-Prince. Conditions in the area remain hazardous, including extensive damage to buildings, roads, and other infrastructure.
NEW: Travel Health Warning to Haiti. At this time, CDC recommends that U.S. travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti. NEW: Guidance for U.S. Residents in Haiti The US Department of State has issued guidance to US residents in Haiti.
UPDATED: Health Recommendations for Relief Workers Responding to Disasters This notice provides advice specific to the needs of relief workers responding to disasters internationally or domestically.
UPDATED: After an Earthquake: Management of Crush Injuries & Crush Syndrome. Crush injury and crush syndrome may result from structural collapse during an earthquake. Crush injury is defined as compression of extremities or other parts of the body that causes muscle swelling and/or neurological disturbances in the affected areas of the body.
IMERT Develops Deployment Training Course
for Members to Prepare and Practice
The Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) and INVENT, the Illinois Nurse Team, introduced a new training course for its members in May. The Deployment Development Training program provided two days of skills demonstration and practice exercises in a simulated deployment environment.
The debut Deployment Development was held May 2-3, 2009, at the ILEAS Training Center in Urbana and attracted about 80 team members.
The program was developed to teach the confidence and practical skills necessary to be a better disaster responder, focusing on communication and collaboration as the keys to success for a more effective team. Participants were required to report to the seminar as they would for a real-world deployment, in uniform with their personal gear cache packed and ready for use.
The first day of the seminar combined presentations and hands-on skills stations to demonstrate the IMERT equipment package and its utilization in an alternate-case site setting. All of the elements critical to establishing a successful deployment environment were included.
Participants determined better ways to pack their personal gear caches; reviewed the supplies that comprise the medical package; set up and organized supplies and equipment as it would be in a real deployment; utilized the radios and patient scanners, learned about specialized equipment including the GenSat trailer and disaster tent; practiced patient conveyance procedures with stretchers, backboards, and 4-wheel utility vehicles; and reviewed JumpSTART triage protocols.
On the second day, participants put their skills to the test in a daylong real-time exercise that simulated a deployment exactly as IMERT-INVENT members will experience it in real-world action. As the seminar was held right as the swine flu outbreak was building, the scenario simulated a pandemic.
The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive, both from team members who have participated in previous deployments and those for whom this was the first “field” experience with the IMERT-INVENT team.
Participants called the new program “the best IMERT training [they’d] ever been to” and “the ultimate see-it, hear-it, do-it weekend.”
As the course was so well-received, IMERT-INVENT plans to offer Deployment Development Training seminars on a more frequent basis. The seminar is open to all IMERT-INVENT team members looking for additional training experience and continuing education credit.
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