Mass casualty events on the scale of the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and North-West Syria, are, thankfully, extremely rare. But mass casualty events are, tragically, not uncommon. Tsunamis, flash floods, hurricanes, and bushfires are all too common in our own region.
It is against the background of the unfolding events in Turkey and Syria that I am reminded of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in February 2009. Those fires caused widespread devastation and the greatest loss of life from fire since colonisation.
Tragically, 173 people lost their lives, 414 were injured, more than a million wild and domesticated animals were lost, and 450,000 hectares of land were burned.
Many of the injured were flown or taken by ambulance to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne; Victoria’s designated “go-to” hospital for mass casualty trauma treatment.
Some months later, in May 2009, I received a call from the Head of Trauma at The Alfred. Pleased to receive the call, I asked the reason. His answer – we just wanted to say a big “thank you”. A thank you for the three years of professional cooperation between Hadassah- and The Alfred during 2004-2007 which saw a significant revision of The Alfred’s Mass Casualty Management Protocols based on lessons learned by Hadassah hospital in the years of the Second Intifada from 2000.
The genesis of this remarkable cooperation was the February 2004 visit to Hadassah by then Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks. Reviewing systems that had been put in place by Hadassah to ensure immediate capacity response to the numerous terror incidents in Israel’s capital, Mr Bracks expressed his concern that Victorian hospitals generally and The Alfred in particular were ill-prepared to respond to a sudden mass-casualty incident.
Returning to Melbourne, Mr Bracks lost little time. In close consultation with Hadassah Australia and The Alfred, an MOU was approved that saw a professional trauma leadership team from The Alfred visit Hadassah in Jerusalem and a reciprocal team from Hadassah visit The Alfred. All the direct costs f the multiple bilateral exchanges were funded by a $100,000 grant from the Victorian Government.
Almost two decades later the impact is still being felt. What was then a ‘one-off’ between Hadassah and The Alfred has expanded into active areas of medical research collaboration between Hadassah and multiple medical and scientific institutions in Australia.
Working together, researching together, learning together – this is the ethos of Hadassah; an institution in Israel that has enhanced health outcomes in Israel and globally.
We are proud and privileged to be associated with Hadassah – much more than a hospital. What we have achieved since our establishment in 2003, has only been possible with the significant, ongoing support of you – our precious donors.
THANK YOU
Ron Finkel
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