scholarly journals Haiti: The Development of “Seamless” Assistance from Disaster Relief to UNPKOs

2022 ◽  
pp. 123-139
Author(s):  
Hiromi Nagata Fujishige ◽  
Yuji Uesugi ◽  
Tomoaki Honda
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Great Earthquake ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Civil Unrest ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
The Government ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

AbstractIn this chapter, we will examine Japan’s response to a complex crisis in Haiti, in which a natural disaster and civil unrest were compounded. Persistent insecurity and confusion in Haiti, albeit under the presence of an ongoing United Nations Peacekeeping Operation (UNPKO), further deteriorated after the great earthquake in 2010. This challenge unexpectedly propelled Japan’s move toward closer “integration,” since several layers of civil-military cooperation rapidly developed to cope with the complicated emergency in post-earthquake Haiti. First, the Government of Japan (GoJ) deployed a civilian medical team and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) emergency medical assistance unit (hereafter, the SDF medical unit) under the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Act. Following the SDF medical unit’s JDR work, the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) carried on with medical assistance. Second, once emergency medical support ended, an SDF contingent was dispatched under the Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Act. The Japan Engineering Groups’ (JEG’s) engagement in reconstruction served as a useful opportunity for the GoJ to refine the “All Japan” approach, further encouraging Japan’s inclination toward “integration.” Meanwhile, the experience in Haiti shed light on the gap in the legal assumptions between the JDR Act and the PKO Act, since neither of them anticipated the protection of civil JDR teams in insecurity.

scholarly journals Issues of Which Organization is Responsible for Hospital Evacuation in Nuclear Disasters

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s144-s144
Author(s):  
Masaru Ogasawara ◽  
Yuta Sato ◽  
Katsunori Ito ◽  
Kyoji Saito ◽  
Katsuhiro Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protective Action ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Dose Assessment ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance ◽  
Nuclear Emergency

Introduction:At the time of a nuclear disaster, residents should evacuate from areas with high air dose rate. In the Great East Japan Earthquake, about 10% of patients died in a hospital evacuation in which medical teams were not involved in transportation.Aim:To determine if hospital evacuation improved after the Fukushima nuclear accident.Methods:This research investigates how the medical system of a nuclear disaster in Japan changed.Results:There are 41 hospitals designated as Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals, and they have 53 Nuclear Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (NEMAT; disaster medical dispatching team specialized in nuclear disasters consisting of medical doctors, nurses, and radiological technologists) that can support hospitals and information in the acute phase.Discussion:At the time of a nuclear disaster, NEMAT is supposed to evacuate residents from the Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone (UPZ; within about 30 km radius). Tens of thousands to one million people live in this area. Hospital evacuation of more than several thousand patients is necessary. The entry of workers for transportation vehicles and lifeline restoration is limited within UPZ, so staying in a hospital is virtually impossible. There are over 2000 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT), and many Red Cross Relief Teams; both of which are stipulated not to conduct clinical treatment in high dose areas and are not educated on nuclear disasters. Although there are Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (REMAT) consisting of doctors and technicians specializing in radiation medicine, they are few in number. They can perform dose assessment, but general medical care cannot be performed because an emergency physician is not included. Therefore, although NEMATs will conduct emergency and hospital evacuation in the affected area, the number of teams is too small to respond. The issue of which organization is responsible for massive hospital evacuation remains unsolved.

Changes to the Korean Disaster Medical Assistance System After Numerous Multi-casualty Incidents in 2014 and 2015

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 526-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myeong-il Cha ◽  
Minhong Choa ◽  
Seunghwan Kim ◽  
Jinseong Cho ◽  
Dai Hai Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Smart Phone ◽  
Assistance System ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
The Government ◽  
Multiple Casualty Incidents ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

AbstractObjectiveA number of multiple-casualty incidents during 2014 and 2015 brought changes to Korea’s disaster medical assistance system. We report these changes here.MethodsReports about these incidents, revisions to laws, and the government’s revised medical disaster response guidelines were reviewed.ResultsThe number of DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team) staff members was reduced to 4 from 8, and the mobilization method changed. An emergency response manual was created that contains the main content of the DMAT, and there is now a DMAT training program to educate staff. The government created and launched a national 24-hour Disaster Emergency Medical Service Situation Room, and instead of the traditional wireless communications, mobile instant smart phone messaging has been added as a new means of communication. The number of disaster base hospitals has also been doubled.ConclusionAlthough there are still limitations that need to be remedied, the changes to the current emergency medical assistance system are expected to improve the system’s response capacity. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:526–530)

scholarly journals The Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance Team and Their Vehicles

2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-58
Author(s):  
Masashi TAKADA ◽  
Norihiro MIYAUSHIRO ◽  
Tsuyoshi HAMANO ◽  
Takako TOMINAGA
Keyword(s):  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Radiation Emergency ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

Emergency Medical Assistance Team Response following Taiwan Chi-Chi Earthquake

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Matthew Ma ◽  
Fang Yue Lin ◽  
Michael J. VanRooyen ◽  
Frederick M. Burkle
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
System Level ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Team Leaders ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Medical Centers ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Level I ◽  
Regional Hospitals ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

AbstractIntroduction:On 21 September, 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, struck central Taiwan near the town of Chi-Chi. The event resulted in 2,405 deaths and 11,306 injuries. Ad hoc emergency medical assistance teams (EMATs) from Taiwan assumed the responsibility for initiating early assessments and providing medical care.Objective:To determine whether the EMATs served a key role in assisting critically injured patients through the assessment of number and level of hospitals responding, training background, timeliness of response, and acuity of patient encounters.Methods:Local and national health bureaus were contacted to identify hospitals that responded to the disaster. A comprehensive questionnaire was piloted and then, sent to those major medical centers that dispatched EMATs within the first 72 hours following the quake. In-depth interviews also were conducted with team leaders.Results:A total number of 104 hospitals/clinics responded to the disaster, including nine major medical centers and 12 regional hospitals. Each of the major medical centers/regional hospitals that dispatched EMATs during the first 72 hours following the quake were surveyed. Also, 20 individual team leaders were interviewed. Seventy-nine percent of the EMATs from the hospitals responded spontaneously to the scene, while only 21% were dispatched directly by national or local health authorities. Combining the phases of the disaster response, it is estimated that only 7% of EMATs were providing on-site care within the first 12 hours following the earthquake, 17% within <18 hours, and 20% within <24 hours. Thus, 80% of these EMATs required >24 hours to respond to the site. Based on a ED I-IV triage system (Level-I, highest acuity; Level-IV, lowest acuity), the vast majority of patient encounters consisted of Level-III and Level-IV patients. Fewer than 16% of teams encountered >10 Level-I patients, and <28% of teams evaluated >10 Level-II patients.Conclusions:1. The response from EMATs was impressive, but largely uncoordinated in the absence of a pre-existing dispatching mechanism.2. Most of the EMATs required >24 hours to reach the disaster sites, and generally, did not arrive in time to affect the outcome of victims with preventable deaths. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen local prehospital care.3. A central governmental body that ensures better horizontal and vertical integration, and a comprehensive emergency management system is required in order to improve future disaster response and mitigation efforts.

scholarly journals ISSUES IN PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO SERVICEMEN WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA IN THE ARCTIC ZONE OF RUSSIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
D. A. Arkhangelskiy ◽  
Yu. N. Zakrevskij ◽  
A. G. Shevchenko
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Therapy ◽  
Community Acquired Pneumonia ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Zone ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

The article highlights the features of medical evacuations of servicemen with pneumonia in the Arctic zone; provides data on the time spent on medical evacuations of servicemen with community-acquired pneumonia from remote garrisons of the Arctic, as well as factors affecting this indicator. It is proposed to use the inventory for antibacterial therapy of complicated community-acquired pneumonia in case of impossibility of patient evacuation.  

scholarly journals The Radiation Emergency Medical Assistance Team and Their Vehicles

2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 2a-2a
Author(s):  
Masashi TAKADA ◽  
Norihiro MIYAUSHIRO ◽  
Tsuyoshi HAMANO ◽  
Takako TOMINAGA
Keyword(s):  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Radiation Emergency ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance

scholarly journals The System of Disaster Dispatch Team Corresponding to the Nuclear Disaster of Nagasaki University

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s170-s171
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Nozaki
Keyword(s):  
Medical Support ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Disaster Area ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Radiation Emergency ◽  
Dispatch System ◽  
Emergency Medical Assistance ◽  
Nuclear Emergency

Introduction:After accidents of Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the Japanese Government distinguished some medical institutions corresponding to the nuclear disaster by roles and functions. Nuclear Regulation Authority is managing these medical institutions. The Nagasaki University was designated as two centers for “the advanced radiation emergency medical support” and “nuclear emergency medical support”. We established “Headquarters for Nuclear Disaster Response and Preparedness in Nagasaki University” (NDRP) and prepared for emergency ordinarily. The staff of headquarters are mainly concentrating their power on the network construction and joint training with each facility. We are improving the dispatch system of nuclear emergency medical assistance team, but some problems were found through the experiences of some trainings.Aim:To stimulate discussion and listen to opinions from several facilities.Methods:The dispatch system of nuclear emergency medical assistance team imitated the system of Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). Specifically, activity days of all teams are limited, and all teams should come under the command of the head of support acceptance medical institution of a disaster area. Particularly the main duties of the dispatch team, which is sent from the nuclear emergency medical support center, are unification and adjustment of the team activities from other facilities. Some other duties include offering appropriate medical care to patients at the disaster area and support of patients’ transportation from the hospital at the disaster area to “advanced radiation emergency medical support center” or “nuclear emergency medical support center.”Discussion:In training the many facilities that participated, we realized that we couldn’t proceed with each activity quickly and smoothly without support from the nuclear emergency medical assistance teams from outside the boundaries of disaster areas. We need to clarify the problems that are obtained from trainings and improve the current system corresponding to a nuclear disaster with efficiency.

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