======================================================================== EMERGENCY RESPONSE Texas: Local medical experts travel to Israel for advice ======================================================================== By Lori Holcomb December 2, 2004 The Daily Texan http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2004/12/02/StateLocal/Local.Medical.Experts.Travel.To.Israel.For.Advice-818960.shtml Austin is prepared to respond to terrorist attacks and massive disasters, but there is always room to improve, according to a team of medical and safety professionals who traveled to Israel to observe homeland security tactics. "We're well-prepared, but you can never be prepared enough," said Chris Callsen, Austin Emergency Medical Services senior division commander. Callsen went to Israel with nine leaders from Austin emergency response departments. The group, part of "Operation Prepared Community: Project Massada," will be presenting its findings to the Austin City Council today on how Austin's response to attacks or disasters can be strengthened. The group was hosted by the Israeli National Police and examined Israeli terrorism prevention and response tactics from "end-to-end," Callsen said. They stayed for 10 days. "You can train or read books, but you have to talk to the folks who are the best in the world," Callsen said. "They've done it enough that they are very good at it." Callsen said the ways the emergency teams respond were similar, except the Israelis have much more to respond to and on larger levels. "Where our responses are usually to a traffic incident involving a bus, theirs is a bus with a bomb on it," Callsen said. Callsen said that the Israelis showed the importance of the coordination and cooperation of all emergency response units. He said Austin police, fire and EMS departments have done well in this area historically but need to work on making sure this pattern continues. "We need to keep doing what we've been doing," Callsen said. "Keep organized and stay aligned with essential themes of priorities - prevent preventable deaths, emphasize routines and spend as much time preventing as responding." Callsen said Austin could work to involve the community more by keeping the public well-informed of ways to avoid harm and to help in emergency situations. He said the Israelis have three times as many civilian police officers as paid officers and that they're allowed to carry weapons and detain people. Civilians are also allowed to help emergency units become involved in assisting with disasters. "We don't need that many bodies on the street every day," Callsen said. "But we're always going to count on the public to be partners through volunteering." He said it was the officials' job to keep citizens informed about how to prepare for terrorist and disaster situations and to inform them of what steps to take and how to help. "They need to be part of the response, not separate," Callsen said. Some of the techniques the Israelis use aren't applicable in Austin because hazards aren't as frequent, but the differences weren't enough to overshadow lessons in how response units could improve, according to Patrick Crocker, Brackenridge Hospital medical director. Crocker and Callsen agreed the largest need for improvement was in Austin's ability to use its resources and equipment to respond to all varieties of hazards. "We're fortunate in Austin, because we haven't had to deal with these kinds of attacks yet," Crocker said. "But we need to be able to respond to all types of hazards, such as floods, tornadoes and fires." He said this comes from being prepared to the point that responses to situations become routine. "We need simple, straight-forward plans, because complex ones will fail in an emergency," Crocker said. Ways to improve casualty prevention and management * All hazards approach have methods that apply to disasters of all levels. * Involve citizens through education and volunteering. * Strong coordination of response units. Source: Patrick Crocker, Chris Callsen