An elite medical team of consisting plastic surgeons, burn specialists and nurses from Sheba Medical Center’s Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response flew to the Central American nation of Guatemala last weekend, to tend to the growing number of people who have been victimized by the eruption of the Fuega volcano.
The medical team, was summoned into action after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an urgent call for assistance from Guatemalan President, Jimmy Morales Cabrera. Members of the Sheba Medical Center team included:
–Prof. Elhanan Bar-On, Director, Israel Center for Disaster Medicine & Humanitarian Response
–Prof. Josef Haik, Director, the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Director of the Burn Center
–Dr. Gregory Trodler, Senior Anesthesiologist in the Burn Center
–Dr. Moti Harats, Plastic Surgeon, Burn Center
–Nurse Aviva Yona, Burn Center
The contingent, which included medical doctors and support personnel from other Israeli hospitals, assembled quickly and flew 24 hours straight to Guatemala City, where they were greeted by Israeli Ambassador Moti Cohen and Guatemalan Ministry of Health officials.
Without wasting a moment, they fanned out across several local hospitals, treating dozens of victims-men, women and children of all ages- many of whom were suffering from severe burns across their bodies and in the lungs (volcanic ash inhalation).
A significant number of these victims also lost family members during the violent eruption last week.
According to the Guatemalan media, the damage, loss of life and numbers of injured people caught the government by surprise, as the volcano continues to rumble and spew ash and lava. The Sheba medical team and their colleagues are working around the clock to deal with the growing calamity.
Professor Bar-On revealed, “We were able in a short period of time to assemble a top medical team from Sheba and other hospitals with the support of the Israeli Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the local health authorities in Guatemala, who welcomed us with open arms upon our arrival. We are endeavoring to use all of the professional tools at our disposal to treat the victims of this disaster.”
Professor Haik added, “The horrific scenes of devastation that greeted us, motivated the team to treat the severely injured victims. Some of them lost their entire family in the aftermath of the eruption. We have heard and seen the horrors. We are hopeful that the advanced medical technologies and medicine we have brought from Israel will enable us to treat and heal these innocent victims, many of whom are suffering from various types of burns.”
Would you like more articles like this from Sheba Medical Center?
Sign up in the form above and receive the latest stories, reports, medical and scientific research, direct to your inbox, from JewishPress.com and from the Sheba Medical Center Tel HaShomer.