A webinar last month provided medical responders with an understanding of the common types of injuries (crush injury and syndrome, wound care and management, tetanus) and public health challenges encountered in the immediate phase of the Haiti earthquake response.

The webinar was developed and co-sponsored by the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Nursing Association, the American Osteopathic Association, CDC’s Division of Injury Response, the National Disaster Life Support Foundation, and AMA’s Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal. “As it became apparent that the event was going to require significant medical and public health assistance, the AMA, together with other federal and private sector partners, recognized the essential need to provide timely and credible education and resources for medical providers willing to deploy,” Italo Subbarao, DO, director of the public health readiness office in AMA’s Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response, told U.S. Medicine last month.

The webinar also highlighted the endemic diseases in Haiti and emphasized that clinicians needed to be prepared to provide care in a challenging austere environment where medical resources are scarce. According to Subbarao, over 400 responders registered for the webinar and approximately 350 participated. The webinar is being archived and is intended to be updated to reflect ongoing challenges and needs in the field for medical volunteers that will respond in Haiti.

back to February articles