By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)- Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Dr. Josh Green and a team of medical professionals are currently in Apia, Samoa on a medical mission to provide vaccinations and render medical aid to the residents of the island nation who have been affected by the measles outbreak. So far nearly 4,000 people have been sickened and about 60 people have died, mostly children under the age of 4, as a result of the highly contagious and infectious disease.
Over the last few days, the Lieutenant Governor’s office has been working with government leaders in Samoa, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as government, community, and business leaders in Hawaii to coordinate a response.
“We reached out to the WHO and CDC who came back with a direct request which was to deploy a medical mission within 24 hours. We immediately put out the call to our healthcare community in the State of Hawaii and were overwhelmed with the response and generosity of people who wanted to step up,” said Green, who is also a practicing emergency room doctor. Within 24 hours of announcing the medical mission, the Lieutenant Governor’s office received more than 500 phone calls and emails from groups and individuals wanting to offer their assistance.
As part of the effort, The Queen’s Medical Center, Hawaii’s largest private hospital and only Level I trauma center in the state dispatched 50 nurses and 11 doctors, including its Chief of Pediatrics, Dr. Nadine Tenn Salle to Western Samoa. “This is a tragedy that is happening in Samoa but it is completely preventable. Their crisis is occurring in the hospital. Their intensive care unit is beyond overflowing,” said Dr. Salle. Queen’s has also donated medical equipment and supplies to aid in the effort. Hawaii Pacific Health, a conglomerate of hospitals also provided 15 medical personnel to join Green’s medical mission, as did the Healthcare Association of Hawaii who reached into its network to provide manpower and supplies for the mission.
Hawaiian Airlines stepped forward to provide one of its A330 aircraft that flew the medical team and equipment and supplies into Faleolo International Airport on Thursday morning (Samoa time). Par Hawaii also donated fuel for the aircraft’s round trip flight. Fiji Airways generously donated all of the seats needed to return the medical team back to Hawaii on Friday.
“It was amazing to see our major pacific air carriers step up without hesitation to help us get the medical personnel from Hawaii on the ground in Samoa. Hawaiian Airlines chartered a plane for the mission, and for the first time landed at Faleolo International Airport in Apia. To share in the effort carrier Fiji Airways without hesitation said they would secure seating for the medical team of more than 70 to return to Honolulu.”
Lieutenant Governor Green was also assisted by former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann who hasstrong community and family ties in Samoa. Hannemann helped to put Green in touch with local leaders, making it easier for Hawaii to get all the clearance it needed to get involved in the urgent need of assistance.
“When there is a crisis, it’s simple, we go – and that’s what these doctors and nurses have done. We are all connected here in the Pacific, and the Samoan people are our ohana (family in Hawaiian)”. The medical team is expected to stay in Samoa for 48 hours before returning home on Friday.