January 16, 2004

A job well done

It was a true hero's welcome as the IMSuRT (International Medical Surgical Response Team) returned home, after spending two weeks helping to treat thousands of Iranians who were injured during a massive earthquake Dec. 27. Family, friends and co-workers gathered at Logan Airport Jan. 7 to welcome the team home and to thank them for their humanitarian work.

Sponsored by the MGH, the IMSuRT-East Team was established and is directed by Susan M. Briggs, MD, who was among those who traveled to Bam, Iran to help the victims.

The IMSuRT members work as volunteers to bring emergency care to victims of disasters. Their capabilities include triage, medical treatment, support for local medical staffs and preparations for patient evacuation. In addition to the members from the MGH, the team also includes clinicians from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital and Boston Emergency Medical Services. The team spent nearly two weeks treating more than 500 victims in their freestanding field surgical facility before returning to Boston.

"It was a great feeling," says Maryalyce Romano, RN, from Ellison 7. "I was helping someone. A lot of these people were digging out their families."

The team witnessed sheer devastation. The earthquake ranked 6.6 in magnitude and killed more than 30,000 citizens. But the team also witnessed such miracles as the rescue of a 97-year old Iranian woman who was trapped beneath rubble for nine days and the births of several babies. "One of the most wonderful things was to see the spirit of the people around the camp when a new baby came, because life goes on," says Briggs.

The following is a list of MGH staff who went to Iran as part of IMSuRT: Physicians: Susan Briggs, Edward George, Annekathryn Goodman, David Lawlor, Jay Schnitzer, Tom MacGillivray. Nurses: Jennifer Albert, Kathryn Brush, Sheila Burke, Lin-Ti Chang, Anthony Forgione, Pamela Griffin, Barbara McGee, Leandra McLean, Jackie Nally, Patricia Owens, Joseph Roche, Maryalyce Romano, Joan Tafe, Barbara Walsh, Brenda Whelan. Respiratory Therapists: Robert Goulet, Jesslyn Lenox. Pharmacist: Ronald Gaudette.
Photos above taken in Iran, courtesy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.