Global responsibility in mass casualty events: the Israeli experience in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
To describe humanitarian aid following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.


METHODS
A field hospital deployed in a small Japanese coastal village devastated by a major tsunami.


METHODS
Thousands of Japanese refugees with minimal access to medical care.


RESULTS
After well-coordinated diplomatic efforts, our medical delegation was the first foreign team to deploy in Japan. Our facility served as a regional referral center for specialized medical treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Following major disasters, even highly modernized countries will face an urgent surge in the need of medical resources. These situations emphasize the need for global responsibility to provide assistance.
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Ofer
O
Merin
Nehemia
N
Blumberg
David
D
Raveh
Ariel
A
Bar
Masafumi
M
Nishizawa
Ophir
O
Cohen-Marom
D000533:Altruism; D055866:Earthquakes; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006772:Hospitals, Military; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007557:Israel; D007564:Japan; D054527:Mass Casualty Incidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008952:Mobile Health Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D012066:Relief Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012941:Social Responsibility