Hurricane Irma: Medical Reserve Team Deployed to Guadeloupe
Following Hurricane Irma’s passage through the Caribbean and at the request of the Ministry of Health, Santé publique France’s medical reserve has been mobilized. A first team left for the region on Wednesday to assess the situation, evaluate needs, and provide medical support. A second team of seven reservists will depart on Saturday morning.
On Wednesday, September 6, 2017, a team of 20 reservists from various specialties was assembled to provide medical support and assess needs on the ground. The team departed for Guadeloupe in the evening alongside Annick Girardin, Minister for Overseas Territories, as well as civil security personnel, firefighters, and Red Cross staff. During its 7-day reinforcement mission, the Medical Reserve team will analyze the situation on the ground and assess future needs.
Three operational teams of reservists deployed to Guadeloupe
Four coordinators are in charge of supervising the teams, comprising a total of 20 reservists. The personnel deployed to Guadeloupe on Wednesday are divided among:
a "Centre 15" team, comprising an emergency physician and medical dispatch assistants;
a pre-hospital team, consisting of four pairs of emergency physicians and nurses;
a surgical team, consisting of an orthopedic surgeon, an anesthesiologist, and operating room nurses.
Additional reinforcements
The Cire Antilles (Regional Intervention Unit) of Santé publique France will also be reinforced by two reserve epidemiologists.
In light of evolving weather and health conditions and information gathered by reservists on the ground, medical reinforcements are being adjusted on a daily basis. That is why a second team of seven reservists will depart Saturday morning to travel to Saint-Barthélemy for a one-week assignment. The team includes a logistics specialist, doctors, and nurses.
Are you a healthcare professional looking to get involved?
Trained and managed by Santé publique France, the reserve consists of volunteer healthcare professionals capable of providing backup in exceptional health situations requiring additional personnel. It can be mobilized by the Ministry of Health, as well as by the directors of regional health agencies, for generally short-term missions in France or abroad. Its missions are varied:
providing additional healthcare services;
repatriation or evacuation of the population in the event of an exceptional situation;
reinforcing call centers for victims;
expertise and coordination missions.
In the event of an alert, volunteers are selected by Santé publique France. Reservists receive regular training, and their assignments are compensated. To become a reservist, volunteer healthcare professionals can register on the website: www.reservesanitaire.fr.
