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Inside an Israeli ER

(Ozy) Matthew Stein - Dr. Ofer Merin is deputy director of Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem and director of its trauma unit. "About a year ago, Jerusalem had an eight- to 10-month period when every other day there were stabbings, and Shaare Zedek's trauma unit treated more than half the country's terror victims." "Israel has been putting a lot of energy into making sure hospitals have a strict plan to receive mass casualties. At least once a year, I'll drill our staff to ensure everyone knows their position and what to do when a suicide bomb explodes and 100 victims are coming in....You need to understand the flow, have the right priorities and know how to deal with those patients who are already in the hospital." "In many of these incidents, we had to treat the terrorist alongside the victims. Sometimes, if their condition is more critical, we'll operate on the terrorist first. We're extremely strict with treating patients as patients without judging them, but explaining this to the victims and their families is not easy."
2017-07-28 00:00:00
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