Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Doctors From Israel in Haiti

Nadene Goldfoot
Since Haiti's huge earthquake, Israel was one of the first groups to get there and help. They set up a great field hospital and started doing operations right away. They arrived from a greater distance than others and came with all the right tools for their doctors. I saw on CNN just after arriving that they had already done 10 operations.

Israel is well organized and are of the mindset to do quickly what is necessary. They delivered a baby to a victim they pulled out of the rubble. She named it "Israel".

As for Israel’s relief efforts to Haiti, they include the following: A field hospital, the only hospital in operation, with 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. A search-and-rescue team, which has rescued about five people from under the rubble, 220 personnel in total. Dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment came with them.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, one of the richest countries in the world, has sent a message of condolence to Haitian President René Préval.

 Some Arab countries have “pledged” help, such as $1 million pledged from both Kuwait and Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates says it will “shortly” send a plane with humanitarian assistance. Qatar, with the third largest gas reserves and the second highest GDP per capita in the world, has dispatched 50 metric tons of aid to the hundreds of thousands of homeless and injured Haitians.

Latest reports are that the IDF Medical Corps have treated some 200 injured people in Haiti, performed ten life-saving surgeries and saved the lives of 140 others. On Sunday night, a resident of Port-au-Prince gave birth to a boy at the Israeli field hospital. In appreciation and gratitude, his mother decided to name her new son “Israel” in honor of the country that helped her. See video of new Haitian baby "Israel" and of IDF Rescue of Man in Haiti

The director of the Haiti field hospital, Col. Dr. Itzik Reis, explained that the IDF delegation is also giving assistance "to people from emergency crews from all over the world, who simply are not capable of dealing with everyone who needs help and giving them treatment. For example, when we understood that the Dominican team is not set up to provide full treatment, we created an order by which they stabilize the patients and we give them the remainder of the treatment.”

Other Israeli relief operations in Haiti include: A six-man ZAKA rescue unit, which worked for 38 consecutive hours and succeeded in pulling eight students alive from the rubble of the collapsed university. IsraAID, which sent a planeload of food and medical equipment. "Latet" (To Give) – a 15-member mission to Haiti, including three physicians, three nurses, and three paramedics.

Mike Huckabee, who is so nice on Fox News, failed to give credit to Israel's help when praising the USA's endeavors and criticized the rest of the world. I saw about a 10 second spot showing Israel's accomplishments on Fox News, but I guess he misssed it.

Resource: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz44iZKUMng.
Dorice Horenstein
Hillel Fendel

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