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BGU Physicians Return from Haiti: UPDATED REPORT 2/14
UPDATED, February 14, 2010 – Physicians affiliated with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) were among the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) medical and rescue delegation in Haiti. Marking their return, they were honored on BGU’s Marcus Family Campus.
Dr. Carmi Bar-Tal, Dr. Lior Zeller, Dr. Erez Karp, Dr. Avi Yitzhak, Dr. Gilbert Sebbag
The delegation's 236 members included 218 IDF soldiers and officers, and 18 civilians. Among the 40 physicians were Dr. Carmi Bar-Tal, the delegation member in charge of triage and hospitalization, and Dr. Lior Zeller, both of whom are graduates of and lecturers in BGU's Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School.
Also participating on the team was Dr. Avi Yizhak, Israel’s first Ethiopian doctor, who received his medical degree at BGU and is now a surgeon at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva; Dr. Erez Karp, also a BGU medical school graduate now at Soroka; and Dr. Gilbert Sebbag, deputy director of Soroka University Medical Center.
Ilan Klein, a student in BGU's master's degree program in emergency medicine, and Elisabeth Berger, a first-year student from the University's Medical School for International Health (MSIH), were also part of the delegation.
In addition to the Israeli delegation, several graduates of the MSIH, an international English-taught medical school in collaboration with Columbia University that focuses on emergency medicine, disaster relief and the developing world, were also helping in Haiti.
Dr. Bar-Tal, who was in charge of the IDF field hospital said, "The huge hospital operated in a well-guarded, fenced soccer stadium in the center of Port-au-Prince, treating open fractures, crush injuries and other orthopedic problems.
"We opened a community clinic near the fence so patients who only needed to be bandaged would not have to be admitted to the hospital. We discharged patients but don't know what awaited them afterwards. At least we gave them a chance to live.”
During their efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the medical delegation treated more than 1,110 patients, conducted 319 successful surgeries and delivered 16 births, including three in Cesarean sections. In addition, the IDF search and rescue team rescued or assisted in the rescue of four individuals.
The delegation left 30 tons of medical equipment for use in the ongoing aid effort, including bandages, surgery equipment, two incubators, as well as blankets, tents and mattresses. The equipment will be distributed to tent cities in different locations in Haiti, under the coordination of the Israeli ambassador there.
“We take enormous pride in the role played by our BGU faculty and graduates. Our unique expertise in emergency medicine made us an integral part of Israel’s delegation to Haiti,” remarked Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
“This mission is a quintessential example of how we share our knowledge, talent and expertise with the world,” he said.
The BGU and Soroka delegation members were recognized by Prof. Shaul Sofer, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Dr. Michael Scharf, the hospital's director, in the campus ceremony.
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel’s southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev.
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Media Contact: |
Andrew Lavin |
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