(A165) Red Cross Health Erus, a Modular Approach to the Challenge of Evolving Emergencies

Abstract

Emergency Response Units (ERUs) were pioneered over a decade ago by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with the intention of providing a standardized, rapid global tool for response in disasters. Health ERUs are one example of several types of ERUs on stand-by in various countries around the world. Their tented infrastructure, basic medical equipment, and pre-trained personnel allow for the provision of surge medical capacity where it is needed. Commonly used set-ups include a Basic Health Care Unit and a Referral Hospital. The recently-introduced Rapid Deployment Emergency Hospital allows for a lighter, highly mobile infrastructure, with surgical and emergency medical capacity. The modular design of these ERUs allows for deployment with materials “tailored” to the disaster. Their flexibility has been demonstrated in public health emergencies such as the nation-wide cholera epidemic that occurred in Zimbabwe (2008) and more recently in earthquake-damaged Haiti (2010) and flood-affected Pakistan (2010). Health ERUs already on the ground in post-earthquake Haiti were able to re-organize equipment for use in cholera treatment units and centers, and additional ERUs were deployed specifically to set-up treatment centers. In Pakistan, a mobile clinic set-up was used to deliver primary health services to displaced populations, including psychosocial support initiatives and community health messages to minimize the emergence of communicable diseases. The Community Health module (CHM) is a new module in development since 2009. Experience has shown that disrupted health systems, combined with displaced populations can create a fertile environment for communicable disease outbreaks. The CHM addresses primary, secondary and tertiary prevention early in emergencies by engaging communities and more specifically National Society volunteers in epidemic control. The modular design of Health ERUs allow for a rapid and comprehensive approach to delivery of health care in a disaster, with a longitudinal perspective of population needs.