Tag Archive for: COVID-19

Lessons from SAMU’s Mission to El Salvador 2020

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SAMU Team El Salvador

After a humanitarian cooperation mission, in many occasions the return to routine comes faster than one can process the experience. But all the memories, experiences and lessons remain in the conscience waiting to be understood. Twenty days after their return, five of the professionals who traveled to San Salvador for SAMU’s 28 day humanitarian assistance mission got together to talk about the experience. 

Some of these volunteers had not seen each other upon their return to Seville, after the welcoming ceremony organized by Escuela SAMU. Upon arrival, they give each other a warm but socially distance hello. Covid-19 continues to be present and everyone is wearing a face mask. After a couple of pictures for our SAMU Magazine, the five volunteers sit in a circle inside one of Escuela SAMU’s classrooms. Everything is quiet. There is no rush or anyone to bother. In that moment Alejandro, María, Rubén, Ignacio y Roberto reflected upon their experiences. 

The five volunteers learned about the humanitarian mission to El Salvador from the call to volunteers made by Grupo SAMU on social media and via different WhatsApp groups. They all submitted their application. Some of them had experience careing for Covid-19 patients in Seville. Ruben Izquierdo, 21 years old, had recently been part of the team at caring for elderly patients at Hotel Alcora, in San Juan de Azanalfareche, Seville. He worked as a nurse practitioner. Ignacio, an emergency technician, was part of the team in la Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz). “For me, this is a vocational job. I love the idea of helping and that also why I’m a red cross and proteccion civil volunteer.” Says Ignacio. 

Roberto is a 4th year medical student and was working as a waiter in Mallorca when he was selected to be in the mission team. “I had excellent references of SAMU. I have friends that have already worked with the organization and I didn’t think it twice. I left my job and took the first flight. Next day I was already being trained at Escuela SAMU. It all happened too fast but I made all the decisions with the support of my mother.” 

María Martín Díaz, a nurse and graduate of the Masters in Nursing for Urgent Care, Catastrophes and Humanitarian Action from Escuela SAMY and Fundación CEU San Pablo Andalucía (2018-2020), also left her job to travel to El Salvador. In her case, she had a contract at Hospital Osuna until the 31 of August. “I left my job knowing that I was going to be penalized and wont be called back for a while. They are now renewing contracts until December and I’m missing out. But I have no regrets. I wanted to go on a humanitarian mission. It was something I always wanted to do but didn’t have a chance in the past.” 

Alejandro is the youngest in our team. He is an emergency services technician and 18 years old. “When I decided to go to El Salvador I only had the support of my father, who is a firefighter and likes emergency assistance. My mother, grandfather and my sister were not excited with the idea. They were afraid of me going on a humanitarian mission at such a young age, but I decided to go ahead”.  

They all agree that the nature of this mission is different from other SAMU Missions. This was not an emergency services mission, but rather a training and support one. The team carried out a training plant in assistance, biosecurity and logistics to improve the effectiveness of the local teams. There was also a big emphasis on hands on training for bedside assistance and to the managerial positions. This knowledge transfer has actually been SAMU’s biggest legacy from their work at Hospital San Salvador. 

These volunteers also found big differences in the way that SAMU has responded to the pandemic in Spain and the operations in El Salvador. “To start, our patients were different. In Hotel Alcora we treated elderly patients but in a stable condition. We didn’t have an ICU unit. In El Salvador we had patients in critical condition” explains Maria Martin. “The ages of our patents was also different. In El Salvador we were treating patients much younger” 

“The structure and way of working was also different. Here we have the doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and technicians, all with different roles and functions. There we found many specializations within a specific role, making the work assignments harder to define’’ continues Maria “On the other hand, the experience of the professionals at the hospital in regards with Covid-19 and in the ICU with multiple patients at a time was limited.”

Alejandro recognizes that one of the most shocking aspects of the mission was the number of deaths. “I had never seen anyone die” says the 18 year old. “ Each country and hospital has its own rules and you have to adapt. But that doesn’t take away the frustration and feeling of helplessness when something is done different from what you have learned and think it’s the appropriate way. There were a lot of young cases that had a big impact on me” 

“This pandemic has taken our profession to a new limit. To many, this crisis is too impactful. Many just want to finish their shift and go home. They are overwhelmed and tired and it is completely understandable” Says Maria Martin.

“ We also admire the flexibility and capacity of change. Their willingness to improve their procedures. All of this makes us realize the great health and sanitation system that we have in Spain” Says Roberto Millares, Medical student. “On the other hand, we found that they had the right quality and quantity of resources, where all that was needed was the optimization on procedures and use of these resources”

Aside from the professional experience, one of the most impactful aspects of the mission was the overwhelming welcoming from the national government and the people of El Salvador in general. 

“Upon arrival to the airport we were warned by other passengers to expect the press to be at the airport. We thought that was an exaggeration, but as we stepped off the place and saw the government representatives we were shocked. We had a ministerial welcome” Says Roberto Millares. “As our mission director says, there were times that we were treated as rock stars and others as Madre Teresa de Calcuta” continues Maria. 

They all agree in the wonderful and warm treatment on part of the people of El Salvador. “They have taken care of us since day one. We aways had a security escort but almost didn’t notice” says Ignacio. “People stopped us on the street to say hi and the patents were very nice and thankful” 

The group also remembers the great harmony within the group of SAMU Volunteers. “We had a great bond. I was not expecting it. From my previous experiences and similar deployments I was not expecting such a great sense of community. What we experienced was a great sense of comradery”  Explains Ruben Izquierdo. “If anyone had a problem or a bad day, we would lift each other up, looking for a way to make everyone feel better. We were a family”. 

In every step of the way, these five volunteers and the rest of the team felt the strong support of the mission team back home. Although not in country, there was a group of SAMU professionals aiding them from Seville, covering their needs and keeping communications with families. “They kept track of all all the important date, birthdays and other celebrations. This really got us through the most difficult moments” Asserts Maria.  

“Mi mother said that she felt more connected and at ease with me in El Salvador that if I was in Seville or Mallorca, because of all the information and details she received from the SAMU Team. I am not the best at giving her a call” adds Roberto. “Although the team in Seville was foreign to us, they knew every details of our mission. They were the great big brother”. Adds Ignacio. 

When asked if they will sign up for a future mission, the answer was an unanimous yes. “I would have stayed longer, with some adjustments”  says Maria. “For example, adjusting our work schedules. During out entire mission, we only had one day off. We were going straight from the hospital to the hotel and had half an hour to eat. We knew exactly what we were signing up, but that rate was only viable for one month.”

“We have lived the spirit of SAMU in its purest form, even though some of our us were new the organization”, concludes Roberto. “We have learned to manage uncertainty and our own shortcomings. That the true spirit of SAMU, but you don’t feel it until you live it”. 

Arrival to San Salvador

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The welcoming to San Salvador was beyond anything we could imagine. Our team is humbled and excited to begin their work. Thank you to our hosts.

https://www.facebook.com/SAMU.Grupo/posts/10159101961594131

Mission El Salvador 2020: Elite force against Covid-19

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COVID-19 El Salvador

An intervention team from SAMU has been deployed to El Salvador in response to a call from their government to SAMU First Response at the beginning of July. The team of 28 is there to help them as they face the sanitary crisis caused by COVID-19. 

Given the situation in El Salvador, the Ministerio de Salud made an official call to Carlos Álvarez Leiva, President of SAMU, to provide assistance to a national hospital in San Salvador, the nations capital. The hospital has been recently inaugurated by president Nayub Bukele. The hospital counts with 1,000 beds of emergency and ICU support, making it the biggest hospital in Latin America. The urgent petition comes as there is a great need of volunteer medical support at all levels for at least a month. This call also comes with a need for instruction and knowledge transfer, something deep into SAMU’s mission and structure. 

To respond to the call, SAMU has gone through an intense selection process in which more than a 100 professionals from different parts of Spain have applied. On July 29th, the team of 28 professionals departed to San Salvador on a month long mission. 

The volunteers reported for duty on July 28th at the Escuela SAMU facilities in Gelves, Seville to depart to Madrid on a bus organized by our team. On July 29 they left on a charter plane to San Salvador. 

“We are a young team with a call to service and a willingness to share the institutional knowledge we have acquired during the last 30 years of missions and 20 years of training from our organization. We are eager to share the best practices that have been developed from the protocols on the fight against covid in Spain.” Says Juan Gonzales de Escalada, director of SAMU emergency services and leader of the mission. 

The departure was attended by many of our local authorities who came to wish the best to our team as they departed on this trip. Among them were Rafael García Villa, delegate from the Human Resources and Mobilization office from the local mayor’s office; Carma Tápies, Leader of the Humanitarian Action office in the Andaluza Agency of International Cooperation; Christophe Sougey De Funes, French Consul in Seville; Ignacio de Cossío Pérez de Mendoza, Consul from El Salvador in Seville; Alfonso Carmona Martínez, president of the School of Doctors in Seville; and Pilar Cordero Ramos, Vice President of the School of Nursing in Seville. 

Before the departure there were many emotional moments from our volunteers and their families as they wished them good luck and said their goodbyes. 

“As a mother I am afraid, what she is going to do is dangerous, there is a risk of contagion but I understand that is her calling and I’m here to support” said one of the relatives from our volunteers. 

As of July 29th there are approximately 270 new cases a day in El Salvador. 87% of the confirmed cases are in the nation’s capital. The Salvadorian Ministry of Health identified the first original cases of Covid-19 in the country back on April 10. At the beginning of July there were of 8,000 cases and 209 diseased. Health authorities predict the peak to hit in August and the country does not count with enough professionals to respond. 

“The call for medical volunteers will create a long lasting impact in our country. We are excited to continue building our relationship with SAMU Foundation as we all continue the fight against the virus, always improving the condition of our community” as stated by the Government of El Salvador. 

SAMU has extensive expertise in emergency interventions during catastrophes and has acquired a lot of know how in the fight against Covid-19. During the time of peak cases in Spain, SAMU was at the frontlines of the response, providing sanitary response by setting up temporary hospitals in Hotel Alcora, located San Juan de Aznalfarache in Seville, and the Residence del Tiempo Libre El Burgo, located in Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz, in order to provide medical services to elderly people with  Covid-19. SAMU also participated in the transfer of Covid patients from Madrid and Toledo. 

Mental health during Covid-19: The voice at the other end of the call.

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A team of 12 psychologists from SAMU are providing specializes services to patients and families in our emergency center temporarily located in the Hotel Alcora (Seville) and the Residencia de Tiempo Libre El Burgo de la Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz). These professionals are also supporting SAMU personnel that are currently working on the frontlines of the pandemic. From the beginning of the crisis they have already performed over 400 interventions. 

“The task force emerged after observing the magnitude of the growing cases and the lockdown preventive measures taken to control the spread. We assessed the psychological consequences that people could suffer and on how we can best support from our position. At the same time, SAMU was advancing in two initiatives: the opening of the Hotel Alcora as a medical center hosting positive cases coming from retirement homes and the transfer of elderly residents from the center Alcalá del Valle to the Residencia de Tiempo Libre El Burgo”, explains Roberto Alconada Padilla, psychologist from the  SAMU Wellness center and coordinator of this initiative. 

The work of this team of psychologist is to assist the families of our patients as they are admitted, provide information about their transfers, health updates and answer their questions and anxieties that are presented when there is a family member that has tested positive for Covid-19. The team also provides the necessary tools when a person feels overwhelmed. All of these interventions are conducted virtually. 

“Another part of our work has been in working with people as they are admitted to our care. A lot of them present cases of depression, anxiety and disorientation” continues Roberto Alconada. Likewise the team is offering support and psychological treatment to health professionals, key elements of our interventions. “Being away from family, exposed to high risk situations and the simple exhaustion from the wearing of PPPs could cause a health professional to experience post traumatic stress disorder”. The interventions are carried our virtually with daily, weekly or biweekly calls depending on the case. 

“The hardest interventions is when we deal with the grief after a family member has passed, often without the possibility of saying goodbye. That is the reason that our teams have taken as high priority to schedule video calls for our patients and their families” highlights one of our psychologist. “Being away from a family member because they have the virus creates a sense of anxiety and stress, even more when there is at a terminal state. For the family it is important to be present even from the distance. Bring able to accompany a parent in their last days helps later when they are in a process of mourning”. 

“We are also helping families in their emotional processes through the country. A lot of them had no chance to say goodbye and they are dealing with difficult grief processes that can lead to greater issues as time passes. Our team supports the family before, during and after a relative is deceased”. Continues Roberto Alconada. He also explains that the society was not ready for this pandemic and that every person has to use their own resources to face the crisis. “As we face the uncertainty and lack of knowledge on how to face this crisis, it is important to have the right set of tools to help us cope with our new reality. Knowing that there is a professional at the other end of the call, someone that listens, understands the challenges and offers advice on how to manage the uncertainty helps the person deal with the crisis in a healthier way minimizing the potential of emotional damage”.

SAMU launches a program of distance learning for students with hearing impairment

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After the state of emergency was declared in Spain as a result of the global crisis caused by Covid-19, the 16th of March marked the closing date for all education centers in the country, at all levels. The closing force centers and teachers to change their methodology and go from an in person to 100% virtual in record timing creating a great challenge for the education community. 

Distance learning has allowed a great section of the student population to continue with instructions. However, students with hearing impairment have not been able to advance their studies because interpreters have not been provided by public administration. 

“This has created a great prejudice towards students with hearing impairment, alongside an increasing learning gap between them and other groups” explains Conchi Pérez, chief of student services at SAMU. 

With this situation, SAMU has moved to develop a program of distance learning for students with hearing impairment. The program has been presented to the Agencia Pública Andaluza de Educación de la Consejería de Educación, and later shared to all other autonomies throughout the country. 

The main purposes of this new program is to address the educational needs of this special group so they can level up with their peers. This will further help the social and labor integration. “This project is born out of the needs to adapt our educational system to work under the current sanitary crises created by Covid-19” says Conchi Pérez. “The main objective is to get the information that educators provide in their classrooms or from their homes and make sure that there is no learning loss to the students in the higher education and vocational centers”

In order for distance learning to reach all students equally, the program will have a virtual platform using existing technology, in which all students can connect at the same time and to provide an interpreter. That way the students will gave equal access to both the instructor and interpreters, maintaining a situation similar to their previous in classroom experience. This will be possible given the previous access to materials provided to interpreters so that they are ready to transmit what is needed to learn. 

“The only thing needed is access to the platform to the students, instructors and interpreters, with reliable internet access and camera and audio capabilities” explains Conchi Pérez. “The student will have the opportunity to participate during online sessions, raising questions and answering at the same time as the rest of the students”.

SAMY wants to expand this program beyond the regular educational cycle into the summer break to supplement learning as it will be offered to other students during the month of July. This will allow all student to catch up with any learning loss emerging out of the pandemic. “If needed, this program can prolong into the fall, given the uncertainty with the return to in person schooling”

The area of Education Services at SAMU counts with a team of over 70 interpreters of sign language that provide in classroom services during the regular school year in education center in the province of Almería, Huelva, Jaén, Cádiz y Córdoba.

Starting on July 16, Fundación SAMU will also provide accompanying services for people with hearing impairment Comunidad de Madrid, for which it already counts with a body of 24 sing language interpreters.

3D printer

SAMU sets up a 3D lab to produce medical equipment

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SAMU’s engineering department has set up a digital production lab (FabLab), in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The spaces is intended to produce non industrial objects using a 3D printer. The lab produces face masks for children and adults, ear-saving pieces, face shields, and other pieces to adapt different products such as diving masks, into respirators so that students and health professionals could use them as practice equipment during training drills. 

“During the pandemic, we all and in particular at SAMU felt de need to fight at all fronts and use all available resources to overcome the shortage of protection methods available a couple of moths ago. This is a proyect that has been undergoing for a while, to be quickly implemented” Explains Juan Antonio Tocino, responsible for the engineering department at SAMU. “The proyect was set to full motion on Mach 21, upon the arrival of the new 3D printer. That same week we started to print pieces to fight Covid-19”

FabLab has since produced over 300 units for different purposes. “This is an important amount given the limited space and the short time since the inception of the lab. We are looking forward to continuing to grow, receive the additional equipment needed and the official accreditation.” says Tocino.

In Seville, like other parts of Spain, there is a move for people and organizations to print 3D products to supply what is needed to fight Covid-19. In Seville, the FabLab with one of the biggest production lines is the one at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla, which counts with over 150 volunteers and has produced close to 20,000 PPEs, according to the University.  

“During the pandemic there has been a great spirit of collaboration at the international level and we have set to the community all available models to facilitate printing. In the case of hospital grade respirators, there had been a model published to adapt a scuba mask, but there was none for a portable respirator. This was developed by SAMU and open to the use of the 3D community” Mentions Tocino. “The spirit of collaboration among the 3D community has allowed for the open dialog on the usage of models and best practices”.

SAMU has been working with different 3D printing groups that focus on medical and technical equipment, among  which there is a radiology 3D center supported by the American Radiology Society. The team has also counted with the support of Ama Moreno Ballestero, MD at the Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico y Medicina Nuclear del Hospital Virgen Macarena de Sevilla; and Javier García Sola, Architect with the Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telégrafos de España.

COVID-19 Volunteer training

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In order to continue the battle against the spread of COVID-19 in Spain, SAMU Foundación carried our a call to recruit volunteers in different fields. Within two days, 600 people had responded to the call. Of all candidates, SAMU selected a total of 60 volunteers with profiles needed to respond to the crisis. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, clinical assistants, pharmacists, medical students, logistical personnel, psychologists,  educators, social workers, occupational therapists, drivers, maintenance workers, seamstresses are all part of this group. 

Fundación SAMU has habilitated a welcome center for volunteers in the facilities of Escuela SAMU de Gelves, Seville. The volunteers have received training in the center, organized by small groups and taking the highest levels of protection to ensure their safety and security. The volunteers underwent a special training on self protection in order to join the organization in their different capacities. This training covers from proper hand hygiene, to wearing and disposing of PPE. Those volunteers with a sanitary profile received an even more in depth training and a refresher course on the basic skills.

Once the volunteers had successfully completed training, they incorporated to a pool to which SAMU will call on for future calls for service in the event needed, for things like patient mobilization, logistics, emotional support among others. 

“We are preparing in case the situation turns for the worse. We are hopeful and optimistic, specially given the good results in Andalucía. At the same time, as an emergency assistance institution we are working with communities like Madrid, where the impact of the virus has been stronger. We have a team workin on supporting local efforts but in case they need additional support, we will be ready” said 

Carlos González de Escalada, SAMU’s General Manager. “This training is essential to the security and wellbeing of our volunteers”.

SAMU is thankful to all the volunteers and is constantly recruiting more volunteers in the fields of higher demands, such as sanitary workers, medical students, nurses and auxiliary personnel. Every volunteer is welcomed in this moments of crisis when society needs it the most. If you want to apply, email seleccion@samu.es. 

Ilunion Seville

SAMU transforms a Hotel in Seville into a COVID-19 care unit

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Among the actions undertaken by SAMU during the COVID-19 crisis, is the establishment of a temporary medical center to assist the elderly population affected by the virus. The center is located in the Ilunion Alcora Seville Hotel, located in San Juan de Aznalfarache.

This center, alongside others in La Linea (Cadiz), Granada and Malaga are part of our assistant to the local authorities to support this vulnerable population as assisted living facilities cannot accommodate their medical needs.

SAMU’s team has set up, in record time, a center with five specialized chambers, intensive care units and rooms for the center’s medical personnel. The hotel is part of ILUNION Gestion S.A, who has offered their hotels to the local authorities make this project a reality. 

SAMU teams working at the frontlines of COVID19

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More than 64,000 people have tested positive, there are over 4,000 in ICU and over 4,800 have died. Those were the numbers of COVID-19 in Spain as of February 27. Numbers that will tragically continue to grow. Madrid is one of the regions mostly affected in the country by the epidemic. More than half of the diseased nationwide are from this area. To this, there is a growing number of healthcare professionals infected and under quarantine. With over 10,000 workers affected, hospitals have experienced an important shortage in the times of crisis. To this end and following a call from the health department of the Junta de Andalucía, SAMU is working to provide support to the province of Malaga as well as in mobilizing special units to the Comunidad de Madrid. 

SAMU has mobilized three intensive surveillance units, a high capacity vehicle and four units of volunteers with over twenty medical professionals to support operations in Madrid in order to safely move a group of senior citizens that have tested positive to COVID-19 to treatment centers throughout the area. This is a highly demanding job, both physically and emotionally because it forces medical teams to work with protective gear which distances them from patients and are extremely uncomfortable. To add to the arduous routine, the personnel has to follow strict guidelines to disinfect and change after each shift. “Taking care of you to be able to take care of others” is as Juan Gonzales de Escalada, SAMU’s Chief of Operations describes it. 

At the same time, SAMU is working on the transfer of 28 COVID patients from a senior residence in Alacala del Valle in the province of Cadiz. This mission, authorized by the Junta de Andalucia, has been set in motion as a virus outbreak had been identified in the residence, affecting both residents and their supportive personnel. Originally, a group of six health professionals from SAMU were mobilized to the residence. The team was composed of one doctor, one nurse, two emergency technicians and two nurse assistants. The team was led by Andres Rodrigues, a nurse, who conducted a survey of the situation, analyzed the conditions of the elderly and recommended their transfer to a temporary hospital that SAMU had set in the Residencia El Burgo, located in La Linea de la Concepcion. After this, the medical team proceeded to a full disinfecting cleanup of the residency. 

For the transfer of the patients, SAMU provided one bus, six ambulances and two special support ambulances. The transfer counted with a caravan from the national police. During this time, a team of other five professionals were setting up the temporary hospital in La Linea. A day after the transfer, a large number of agents from security and health services from the state sounded sirens in honor of the elderly at the doors of the temporary hospital. Sirens and applauses were followed by SAMU’s team, who showed their solidarity and gratefulness with applauses from inside the premises. Neighbors from the municipality held a large sign that read “You are also our grandparents”. 

Today, 24 SAMU professionals are caring for a total of 28 patients. The security measures are high and all personnel count with the proper PPE. 

“This is a hard and pure humanitarian action, as says our boss Carlos Alvarez Leiva, it’s a textbook crisis” Says Andres Rodrigues, supervisor of the temporary hospital in La Linea. “I am very surprised. I have been to many humanitarian missions in places like Siria and Libia, but I never imagined to be living such a situation in this part of Europe”.

On another front, SAMU continues to provide services in Malaga, where it moves between three to four patients on a daily basis. In addition, the Empresa Publica de Emergencias Sanitarias has requested that SAMU presents a contingency plan of up to 150 workers ready to support all stages of the crisis. Fortunately SAMU’s personnel has received training on the use of PPE and are used to working in high risk areas including working under areas of viral infections. According to Gonzalez de Escalada “its about taking the most extreme precautions”. 

At the closing of SAMU’s march magazine edition, we are still in action helping in all fronts of the crisis with a plan of action and a series of projects to support the local authorities such as the set up of homeless shelters in Madrid and Seville, and the opening of a temporary hospital in the hotel Aljarafe in Seville, aimed at treatment of the elder population. SAMU’s General Director, Carlos Gonzales de Escalada has put his entire organization and resources to the disposal of local authorities and the society in general to contribute to its maximum capacity in the solution of the current health crisis. 

Tag Archive for: COVID-19