TORONTO — They were two “meaningful,” unusual weeks in the life of an Israeli physician.
Dr. Ofer Merin
Or as Dr. Ofer Merin put it, “It was a privilege to help people in need in a chaotic situation.”
Merin, a heart surgeon, deputy director of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and a lieutenant-colonel in Israel’s army reserves, was in Toronto last week to discuss Israel’s much-lauded mission of mercy in Haiti.
Within 24 hours of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that displaced three million Haitians, killed more than 200,000 and injured some 300,000, Israel dispatched a fully equipped field hospital to the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Merin, who received part of his training at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, was in charge of the tented facility.
To Merin, Haiti was terra incognita, “a country none of us knew,” he said in a talk and slide show at Shaarei Shomayim Congregation presented by the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation, the Speakers Action Group and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
Yet the Israeli medical team – consisting of 40 doctors, 20 nurses, 20 paramedics and medics and 20 lab and X-ray technicians and administrators – was ready for the challenge.
“We responded very quickly,” said Merin, whose improvised field hospital treated 1,111 Haitians, performed 315 operations and delivered 16 babies, including a set of twins.
The Israelis left in two aircraft – a passenger plane carrying personnel and a cargo plane with 30 tons of equipment, including ultrasound machines and incubators. Their flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, took 16 hours.
Although they were unfamiliar with Haiti, three Israeli physicians who preceded them to their destination sent vital intelligence, thereby preparing the way.
The fully operational Israeli field hospital was set up in a soccer field in the centre of the city and was split into surgical and internal medicine branches.
“The word spread very quickly where we were,” Merin said. “Some patients arrived in wheelbarrows.”
Each patient was registered and photographed, their vital medical information entered into a laptop computer.
Most patients were treated for open limb fractures. Limbs had to be saved, because most Haitians can’t afford prosthetics, Merin said.
In general, Haitians with life-threatening injuries received priority, he noted.
But in some cases, this rule was waived. “We had to be flexible,” he explained.
Patients were sent away within a day of surgery, but Merin and his staff had no idea where “home” was, since so many residential buildings were destroyed by the powerful earthquake.
Despite all efforts, 13 Haitians treated by the Israelis died.
Merin said he worked under a weighty burden of emotional stress. “There is no good answer as to how we maintained our sanity,” he said.
Before starting his day, he jogged for an hour.
Having finished their tour of duty, the Israelis left behind their equipment, and a lot of goodwill.
For a nation whose international image requires improvement, the mission was a public relations triumph for Israel.
