Federal and state officials have asked a San Diego-based medical response team to prepare for possible deployment to Japan. The 30-person team has a lot of recent experience in the field. Thousands are missing following the largest earthquake/tsunami in Japan's history.
The team is made up of doctors, nurses, and administrators from Scripps Health. The team responded to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, last year's earthquake in Haiti, and the 2007 wildfires.
Patricia Skogland is Scripps' director of disaster preparedness. She said in the first two weeks after a natural disaster, health providers handle a lot of traumatic injuries.
"And then as the disaster progresses, like in Haiti, then it becomes more chronic injury, chronic illness that hasn't been taken care of for a period of time," Skogland said.
If Scripps' medical response team is deployed to Japan, it will go with one of the state's 50-bed mobile field hospitals. The team could be ready to roll within 72 hours.
