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Trauma Training Drills Prepare for Future Emergencies
AmeriCares India is working with local authorities and hospital officials to expand mass casualty training exercises that prepare emergency responders for large-scale disasters like last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai. AmeriCares announced it will commit $50,000 for disaster training and drills. The exercises offer emergency medical personnel and health care providers a unique opportunity to hone their skills and identify gaps in their disaster management systems that can be improved through planning, coordination and communication.
Immediately after the attacks, AmeriCares India organized a blood drive and donated life-saving IV fluids to two hospitals treating survivors.
AmeriCares, an international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization based in Stamford, Conn., officially launched its expanded operations in India last month, only weeks before the deadly attacks. Elizabeth Furst Frank, AmeriCares Senior Vice President of Global Program Operations, oversees AmeriCares India and took part in the most recent trauma training exercises in Mumbai last month.
“Our new India office and warehouse allows us to respond rapidly to crises in India and the surrounding region, and the training exercises prepare emergency responders for tragic events like the violence that unfolded in Mumbai in recent days,” Elizabeth Furst Frank said. “Going forward, AmeriCares is committed to emergency relief activities that strengthen the response capabilities of local health care institutions.” The disaster drills are a public-private partnership sponsored by AmeriCares, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, The University of Mumbai, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and other organizations.
About AmeriCares:AmeriCares is a private, nonprofit international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization based in Stamford, Conn., which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9 billion in humanitarian aid to 137 countries. For more information, please visit www.americares.org and www.americaresindia.org.