[lit-ideas] Re: A Possibly Very Good Idea
- From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 03:22:52 -0700
>It would, of course, first have to pass a Congress
ck: Which makes this hypothetical sound like a marvelous project for the
UN--especially considering the dearth of physicians in the US, as Judy
pointed out.
John makes a few good points here as well. I heard of pre-preparedness from
a marine MD, one of those first responders. It's essentially how the US
military uses a medical base in Germany, for the war wounded from Iraq. (Fly
to Germany, stabilize, then fly for treatment at Bethesda.)
But ships are slow, as John said. Even with pre-preparedness, ships would
serve a population near the oceans only--which severely truncates the
usefulness of huge ships in the vast land we call the US. Also, they'd be
excellent targets, particular if they're US-only. However, combined with a
system of air power and medvacs, to reach people inland, even in difficult
terrain, the idea seems possibly very good, as an expansion of Doctors
Without Borders.
Why, Eric, do you think this should be a US project? Want Halliburton to run
it? Not that the UN is a paragon of efficiency, but our government would
subcontract the whole project to you know who.
I think a serious first step would be for the US to position a hospital ship
off the gulf shore, in hurricane season (like, now). Another Katrina is
unlikely, simply because New Orleans no longer exists as it once did. But
hurricane evacuations in Florida are run-of-the-mill catastrophes that could
test a small version of this system.
Ok, Eric. You've got my vote, with qualifications.
Carol
----- Original Message -----
From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 4:33 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: A Possibly Very Good Idea
> On 8/20/06, Judith Evans <judithevans1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Not to be rude or anything... Eric, the US
>> has fewer doctors per 100,000 of the
>> population than even the UK, and is busily poaching
>> nurses from elsewhere. So where would the
>> medics come from?
>
> Another, practical issue has to do with the idea of recalling the
> ships in case of a bioterrorism or other terrorist incident. Ships are
> slow. Even, say, best case, a ship off the coast of West Africa will
> take several days to reach the East Coast of the USA. That is why, on
> the one hand, 40% by value of international trade now travels by air
> cargo and, on the other, why the U.S. military is seriously interested
> in an idea called "pre-positioning."
>
> Pre-positioning involves loading ships with military hardware and
> supplies and stationing them permanently in International waters close
> to where you expect to have to use them. Then you can fly in your
> troops, deliver the stuff they need to a handy nearby port, and be
> operational within days instead of weeks or months.
>
> Similar considerations explain, by the way, the U.S. interest in
> having bases in places like Bulgaria and Uzbekistan, especially the
> latter, since Central Asia is remarkably devoid of International
> Waters where ships can be prepositioned.
>
> None of this affects, of course, the first part of the proposal, to
> create a fleet of official versions of Project Hope and sending them
> sailing around the world to provide medical care as an image-building
> project. It would, of course, first have to pass a Congress that, as
> currently constituted, has been far more interested in Pharma and HMO
> profits than in providing health care inside the USA, let alone for a
> bunch of foreigners.
>
> --
> John McCreery
> The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
>
> US CITIZEN ABROAD?
> YOU'RE THE DECIDER!
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