Disaster Medicine Projects

Alaska Shield

Fellows and BIDMC fellowship faculty were invited by the State of Alaska to function as evaluators and researchers for Alaska Shield, a statewide disaster drill involving local, state, and federal agencies in numerous scenarios designed this year to mimic the 1964 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake. The events had more than 10,000 professional personnel involved in the drills, with more than 100,000 civilian participants. The drills allowed the members of the BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship to use their expertise to teach others and to further disaster research. Fellows and faculty met with numerous leaders and groups, including Governor Sean Parnell. Sixteen fellows and faculty from the BIDMC Fellowship served as invited expert evaluators. The drill represented the first deployment of the Alaska Medical Station and was a great success.

Hurricane Haiyan Deployment

The BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine deployed teams to the Philippines typhoon disaster, in conjunction with partners GR3 and ACTS World Relief. The first team landed in Cebu Sunday, November 17, 2013. Follow-up teams departed Wednesday, November 20. The teams worked extensively in Cebu and Tacloban treating over 7000 patients, many of whom had not received any medical care since the typhoon.

Emergency Medicine Conference, Abu Dhabi

In December 2013, the inaugural Abu Dhabi Police Department (ADPD) General Headquarters Emergency Medicine Conference was held, organized by the BIDMC Disaster Medicine Division and the ADPD, the entity that oversees the public healthcare system of this emirate. This new conference, designed to bring the latest information to the countries of the GCC, featured lectures from nearly thirty Harvard Medical School faculty, including consultant, Dr. Greg Ciottone, who also served as scientific committee chair.

Disaster Medicine Fellowship Winter Disaster / Wilderness course

The BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, in conjunction with the MGH Wilderness Medicine Fellowship and the National Ski Patrol, held its first annual Winter Medicine Symposium in Jackson, NH on January 31 – Feb 2, 2014. It was a 3-day program covering a wide array of winter medicine topics. Attendees included fellows from the BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine and the MGH Wilderness Medicine Fellowship, as well as students from Tufts Medical School Wilderness Medicine Interest Group. Representatives from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services also participated.

Roundtable on Ebola for West African Ambassadors

In August 2014, the BIDMC Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, in conjunction with the Disaster Preparedness Program at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, hosted ambassadors from the African countries of Sierra Leone, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia, and Zambia for a round table discussion on the Ebola crisis. “The four-hour session, organized by HHI, allowed officials to ask questions of medical experts, exchange views about strategies to ease the crisis, and discuss potential ways to help in the future.” Read more here.