Answering the call to serve: UCLA Health ’s humanitarian aid to Beirut takes off

Thousands of masks, face shields and safety goggles. Hundreds of bottles of hand sanitizer and soap, syringes, sutures, gloves and burn dressings. Dozens of procedure gowns and tourniquet kits. Four EMT gurneys. Two AESOP robotic surgical arm units. Two arthroscopic carts. Two Site Rite mobile ultrasound machines and one diagnostic ultrasound machine. These are just some of the items found in the 13 pallets of medical supplies and personal protective equipment UCLA Health recently shipped to Beirut, Lebanon, to aid those still in need two months after a tragic explosion devastated the city.“The fact that we are sending this substantial donation of medical supplies is absolutely remarkable,” said Dr. Neveen El-Farra, professor of clinical medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and one of the chief organizers of the humanitarian effort. “It exemplifies UCLA Health ’s commitment to the global community. It aligns with our vision of healing humankind one patient at a time by alleviating suffering and delivering acts of kindness.”Even from 7,460 miles away, the unofficial UCLA response to the massive explosion of 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate on Aug. 4 that killed 137, injured more than 5,000  and displaced another 300,000 people from their homes, was immediate.“After the explosion, I was literally three clicks away online from buying my flight there because I wanted to help,” said Dr. Faysal Saab, assistant clinical professor of internal me...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news