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Jennifer Choi
Assistant Director, Media Relations
NYU Medical Center Public Affairs
212-404-3555
Email: jennifer.choi@nyumc.org
NYU Medical Center Holds Symposium in Emergency
Management Featuring Israeli Disaster Response Experts
NYU Medical Center will present a disaster management symposium
featuring keynote addresses from emergency management experts from
Israel. The symposium, entitled “An Israeli Experience: Hospital
and Psychosocial Lessons Learned Using the Past to Prepare for the
Future” will be held on September 26, 2005 from 1230 PM to
5 PM at Farkas Auditorium in NYU Medical Center.
For years, disaster management experts in Israel have set the standards
worldwide in emergency preparedness. Their level of expertise is
further complimented by current nationwide measures being taken
in Israel to prepare for an earthquake. Through a grant from the
U.S. Surgeon General’s office, emergency management experts
at NYU Medical Center embarked on a one week tour through major
trauma centers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa and have quickly
organized a symposium to share their findings in hospital emergency
management and mental health response mechanisms with their colleagues
in New York. During the same week of the trip, Hurricane Katrina
had ravaged the Gulf Coast.
“Emergency management experts in Israel have learned through
repeated real-life events how to be best prepared for disasters,”
said George Contreras, Director of Emergency Management at NYU Medical
Center. “We need to learn as much as possible from them without
having to go through the events ourselves.”
The Keynote Speakers are:
Moshe Michaelson, MD
Director, Emergency Department – Rambam Center for Human Health,
Haifa, Israel
Chairman, Israeli National Committee on Mass Casualty Situations
Medical Director – The Teaching Center, Haifa, Israel
Gila Hyams, RN
Director of Nursing, Surgery Division, Rambam Center for Human Health,
Haifa, Israel
Director, Teaching Center, Haifa, Israel
Trauma Coordinator, Rambam Center for Human Health, Haifa Israel
“I was very impressed with the commitment of the staff of
hospitals in Israel as well as the culture of the whole country
in focusing how to best to save lives during a disaster,”
said Dr. Esther Chachkes, Director of Social Work at NYU Medical
Center who is also the co-leader of the NYU Crisis Support Team,
a group that originated from a cadre of counselors who assisted
family members of 9/11 victims, Ground Zero volunteers, and local
community members. Her team is the first to be designated by the
U.S. Surgeon General to train hospital staff and community volunteers
to provide emotional assistance during large-scale emergencies.
A sampling of major lessons learned that will be shared in the symposium
include:
- Hospital staff members need to incorporate emergency management
into their routine at home. A staff member can not be 100% committed
to his/her role in a hospital if they are worried about what is
happening at home. A helpful guide from the Office of Emergency
Management called “Ready New York” is recommended
by George Contreras and can be found on
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/readynewyork/ready_guide.html
- Emergency management procedures must be incorporated at the
workplace as well. “Go” bags, batteries, flashlights,
evacuation procedures, phone lists, should constantly be updated
and reviewed.
- Hospitals must continue to run drills and exercises with other
hospitals and city agencies. Recently NYU Medical Center completed
a successful drill with the VA Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital.
Additionally, NYU Medical Center also participated in a citywide
exercise that focused on pandemic influenza.
- In Israel, there is a great emphasis on strengthening the natural healing systems that people have and promoting resilience. In the U.S. we need not to view every stress reaction as mental illness and should remember that people have within themselves the mechanisms for coping.
Where: Farkas Auditorium, NYU Medical Center, 550 First Avenue,
Between 30th and 33rd Street
When: 12:30 PM – 5 PM, September 26, 2005
Contact: George Contreras, 212-263-2628
Fee: Free
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