|
Hudson Valley Hospital's EMS Coordinator Leads Medical Workshops in China
John Filangeri helps saves childrens' lives by teaching caregivers pediatric life support emergency techniques
While everyone's focus will be on the athletes during this summer's Olympics in China, John Filangeri, EMS coordinator at Hudson Valley Hospital Center, will be wondering what medical emergencies are going on behind the scenes.
Filangeri recently spent a week in Beijing, training medical personnel about pediatric life-support emergency techniques. He was sent there by International SOS, a provider of medical assistance, international healthcare, security services, and outsourced customer care. They have been operating in China since 1989.
SOS is aware of the logistical challenges facing medical and security support during the Olympics, Aug. 8-24, since there will be 31 hosting venues scattered around the country's eastern border, including sites in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin.
Filangeri was in China after May's 7.9 magnitude earthquake, when the numbers of dead, injured and homeless kept climbing: 85,000 missing or dead; 12 million homeless, many living in newly constructed tent or prefab cities, with little hope of returning home for months, years, or perhaps, forever.
"Now, with the upcoming Olympics and the onslaught of foreigners coming to China, plus the number of foreigners and their families living and working in China, SOS felt it was imperative to provide more training," says Filangeri. "The staffs in China are well trained to work on adults, but needed additional training in caring for children. My focus was primarily on resuscitation techniques of critical ill children, which are different than the resuscitation techniques used on adults," he adds.
Medical personnel from clinics all over China, some of them fresh from helping earthquake victims, took part in one-day sessions in Beijing, learning from Filangeri the latest techniques for saving children's lives. At day's end, each participant received a certificate from the American Heart Association.
"It was a wonderful experience, and one I will remember forever," Filangeri says. "I know the techniques that the medical personnel learned will improve their treatment techniques."
In addition, Filangeri contacted the Chinese Minister of Health, who is in charge of disaster management. Filangeri, disaster coordinator for both HVHC and the Town of Cortlandt, says they plan on sharing information, a progressive step and one that Filangeri looks forward to fulfilling.
Hudson Valley Hospital Center is located on Route 202 (1980 Crompond Road) in Cortlandt Manor. Call 914-737- 9000 or visit www.hvhc.org.
| Click ads below
for larger version
|
