CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TEAMS Japan

[tniuqs]

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TEAMS :: www.canadianmedicalteams.org

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E M E R G E N C Y A L E R T

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Deployment Status and Volunteer Update

3/13/2011 11:41:16 PM:

Dear Colleagues,

As most of you may be aware a CMAT Rapid Assessment Team departed Vancouver this afternoon bound for Japan. We have been in constant contact with US Military, Japanese and United Nations officials. At this time I must stress that no decision has been made with regards to deployment of additional medical teams. We understand that many of you are eager to assist with this catastrophic disaster and we thank you for your outpouring of support. While we await word from our assessment team there is still plenty you can do to help;

1. We are looking for local Toronto folks who will be available to assist with an inventory of Field Hospital supplies later this week. Valerie Rzepka will be forwarding further details this evening or tomorrow morning,

2. We have launched an urgent appeal for donations to purchase a Nomad Emergency Water purification unit to ship to Japan. http://www.noahwater.com/nomad.html If you are interested in assisting with this effort please and you need more information please let us know,

3. Urge your friends, co-workers and family to visit our website and donate generously. Contact your local service groups and Japanese Community for presentations on the CMAT efforts,

4. If you have any fundraising ideas that you would like to spearhead and require any further details or CMAT support please contact us at appeals@canadianmedicalteams.org

If you are a newly registered volunteer please note that you will have received a standard approval and access to the second application package. This does not mean that you have been approved to deploy to Japan, but rather professional information that CMAT is required to keep on file for all future deployments. Emailed electronic copies of application form and required documents is preferred. Please send these to bdemille@canadianmedicalteams.org

And finally, due to and extremely high volume of communication, please do not call or email advising us that you are available or interested to deploy until such time that we specifically request volunteers that meet your specific skill set. Do however contact us with ideas you have to help from home here in Canada.

In the meantime please follow us on our Website, Facebook and Twitter. If you require urgent assistance please do not hesitate to contact myself bcoltart@canadianmedicalteams.org or Valerie Rzepka vzepka@canadianmedicalteams.org.

Warmest Regards,

Bill Coltart

International Disaster Response Coordinator

Regional Director - Western Canada

Canadian Medical Assistance Teams

Follow CMAT on Facebook and Twitter!

Canadian Medical Assistance Teams

For inquiries, please send mail to postmaster@canadianmedicalteams.org.

150 Brant Avenue,

Brantford, Ontario. N3T3H7

CANADA

www.canadianmedicalteams.org

Tel: (416) 305-0290

Fax: (519) 720-0282

[tniuqs]

CMAT + IMAT Blog:

We arrived safe in Tokyo. Tourist information told us there wasnt a single vacancy in the whole city. Rental cars and trucks non-existent. Even if there was something, fuel is in short supply and is being rationed out.

Somehow, using our combined good looks and charm … or just connections and Ian our Japanese speaking team member … a way was made and beds were found.

That’s not even the best story.

As we disembarked off our Japan Airlines flight, the flight attendants handed us a bag full of little wrapped gifts. One for each of us. The entire flight whenever a flight attendant would walk past it was more often then not coupled with a remark of ‘thank you for helping our Japan’ or ‘thank you very much for coming’, most wonderfully as I said goodbye and left the plane I was told to ‘have a good rescue’. AWESOME.

BUT back to the presents. Faced with having to track down some accommodations, the gifts were left til later. When we were all settled in our hostel, Kelly handed them out and finally we got to see our gift. Having only what was on board at their disposal the flight crew had given us little oatmeal cookies, rice crackers, some sort of sponge cake, but also folded us each an origami crane, and to our surprise had written us notes. In each gift were two small but extremely touching notes of encouragement, thanks and wishes for our health.

Just amazing… and what a phenomonal welcome- below I’ve transcribed a few of those notes.

‘Dear Medical Team, We thank you for your rescue. Please take care of yourselves! God Bless you all. -Sincerly, JL17 crew’

‘We do appriciate your help in our difficult situation. Your courage touch our heart. Thank you!!! and take care!! -JAL crew

‘We appriciate for your action. We are facing the terribly disaster that was never seen. I believe we can make it over. You are great hope for us and victim people. Thank you thank you very much’

‘I cried everyday since I watched TV news. I just sad, nothing else. But I has gotten big brave from you. I will change my mind. I will do my best which I can do! Take care of yourself.’

None of us saw that coming, what an encouragement for us to now go … and do.

[Just Plain Ruff]

CMAT + IMAT Blog:

Incredible notes.

[tniuqs]

[tniuqs]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/03/13/canadian-medical-team-japan.html

Please Forward to any interested parties the link for CMAT website.

Looking to do funding display in EDM or YEG asap, any in Alberta wishing to assist please PM.

pitter patter lets get at er !

Edited March 14, 2011 by tniuqs

[Quakefire]

I recent had the opportunity to speak with Bill Weeks, one of the CMAT regional chairs about their organization and how it works. The people volunteering in Japan right now are doing so out of their own pockets, travel is not provided. If you wish to help out a friend who went over you can make directed donations to help cover their expenses and still get the tax reciept. Also anything they bring over will stay there to continue helping the Japanese people. Truly a noble organization that deserves our support.

[tniuqs]

CMAT ... is already on the Ground.

Globalmedics ..... is already on the Ground.

DART ahem "director" is needing a hand written origami note from the Japanese Emperor <sheesh> ?

Some days you have to just have to wonder .. I hope when DART (the grunts are awesome folks) gets there they will assist the NGOs .

Prayer in this case is just NOT ENOUGH, you can't eat or drink a prayer.

[tniuqs]

I am disappointed with the news that CMAT and IMAT has pulled the members from Japan, they are just not prepared for nuclear disaster of this magnitude.

I am without words to express my feeling's for the Fukushima Fifty, the helicopter water bomber pilots and the fire fighters.

They define as I type, the word HEROS.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)"

Many think this quote is old and from some famous philosopher. The thought does have its origins in an ancient text, but it wasn't spoken by a great philosopher, and the thought did not originate from a 1982 motion picture, Wrath of Khan.

The thought came to us from Caiaphas, the High Priest mentioned in the Gospel of John. In John 11:49-50 the Apostle John wrote, "And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."

[WolfmanHarris]

I'm a trained (though yet to deploy) volunteer with GlobalMedic. Unfortunately due to my incredibly low seniority at work (no vacation time, no OT bank yet) and the fact that I just bought my first house and move in next week I am unable to even put in to go at this time. I have, however, been following the updates with baited breath. Below is an e-mail I received from GlobalMedic early this morning. I've reprinted it here for everyone's interest. The only redacted section are e-mail addresses (GlobalMedic doesn't need SPAM).

"Hello Everyone,

I would like to provide you with an update on GlobalMedic’s operations in Japan and the situation on the ground.

GlobalMedic has offered the deployment of its Emergency Water Unit and Emergency Medical Unit, including the deployment of inflatable field hospitals and water purification units to the Japanese government. We have not received word as of yet regarding our offer but believe they will not ask for our assistance in a formal capacity.

GlobalMedic has received over $100,000 from the public and private companies, and in the interest of good stewardship of funding, has decided to work with local Japanese partners to procure and purchase items to distribute in the affected areas in the North East of Japan that were hit by the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami.

Currently there is a 2 person team on the ground in Japan. Initially this team was in Tokyo, but has moved its base of operations to Nagoya. The move to Nagoya was for two reasons, first, the supply chain for procurement of needed items such as blankets, sanitary napkins, baby formula etc is much stronger in Nagoya then Tokyo at the moment, and Nagoya is currently further away from Fukishima which is the cause of potential nuclear issues at the moment.

We may expand operations into the affected areas to include the installation of Trekker water purification units and inflatable field clinics with local partners. This decision has not been finalized at this time. We may require 1-2 volunteers to deploy to Nagoya to assist with logistics in terms of the procurement of supplies and delivery to affected areas, as well as with the installation of Trekkers and inflatable filed clinics. Please note that no additional personnel will be deployed into Japan if GlobalMedic management feel it is unsafe.

Please consider this a new call out for volunteers to deploy under the following guidelines: 3 week deployment timeframe, deployment initially into Nagoya and possibly into affected areas in North East Japan depending upon risk factors.

Please email [Redacted] if you are interested and available to deploy. Please note that due to time constraints we will only respond if the deployment of a team moves forward and you are selected."

[Richard B the EMT]

I'll just "armchair quarterback", here.

Is there some way to jury--rig some heavy water pumps, like a fire engine company, to pull water out of the waterway that seems to be alongside the distressed reactors, and figure out some way to vent the hydrogen gas off harmlessly?

Whoever the volunteers remaining behind to try and stop the meltdown are, they know they are dead men walking. Their names will be remembered, in Japan, and the rest of the world, if the attempt is successful. I join the world in wishing them that success.