News Archives - Page 10 of 20 - Canadian Medical Assistance Teams

Notice of CMAT’s 2015 Annual General Meeting of Members

CMAT’s 2015 Annual General Meeting of members (AGM) will be held live in Toronto, Ontario on: Saturday November 21, 2015 at 16:30 (Eastern), and will be also streamed online via Google Hangouts and YouTube at:

13:30 (Pacific)
14:30 (Mountain)
15:30 (Central)
17:30 (Atlantic)

Meet your 2014/2015 Board of Directors in person and online. An agenda, and login information for remote participation will follow by email, and will also be posted on the CMAT website shortly before the meeting.

CMAT Annual General Meeting:
The Sky Lounge at Marina Del Rey
2269 Lake Shore Blvd. West (near Park Lawn Rd.)
Toronto, Ontario

Parking: available onsite, free of charge.

TTC: 501 Queen Streetcar towards Long Branch, exit Legion Rd (past Park Lawn)

Please click the link below to send an email with the following information:

To RSVP If you will be attending in person (and number of participants) [we need to know how many people to expect, to inform building security in advance]
To submit a question or topic for discussion at the AGM in advance under “new business”.
Need to speak to someone? Please call 416-305-0290 to speak to Lesley.

Call for Nominations – 2015/16 Board of Directors

Board of Directors, News

Vacancies on CMAT Board of Directors
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!!! There are two positions up for election on the CMAT Board of Directors.

NOMINATION GUIDELINES

All nominations should be sent to the nomination committee’s attention: [email protected] stating the following information:
- Nominee’s full name
- Nominee’s hometown/ province
- Nominee’s contact phone number and email address
- Nominee’s profession
- Nominator’s Full name*
- Nominator’s contact phone number and email address*

* Nominees may nominate themselves, but require a “nominator’s” name in their email as an endorsement.

Nominations must be received no later than Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 23:59 pacific time.
Person nominated must be CMAT volunteer member. (‘Member’ is defined as a volunteer who is currently listed on the online database, in good standing, and who is willing to carry out the obligations of the office to which she/he may be elected)
Nominees (candidates) require the endorsement and referral of one nominator who must also be a CMAT member in good standing, who may be contacted to provide a reference.
Past experience and CMAT involvement is beneficial (e.g. previous deployment, training, committee involvement, local volunteering, fundraising).
Members can run for only one (1) position in the election.
All nominations should include a short biography of the candidate of not more than 250 words which covers the two categories (i) profession/experience and (ii) philosophy (please do not forward a CV)
Nominations should include a head and shoulders photograph of each candidate. Please attach the picture to the email as a jpg file
Information provided about a candidate and her/his photograph will be posted on the CMAT website, during the voting period.

Online voting will open on November 1, and close on November 15. Registered CMAT members will receive a secure link to the voting ballot via email.

CMAT Emergency Alert: Nepal Earthquake – Update #9

News

Women gather under a tree for shade, while waiting for their turn at the CMAT clinic in Takukot, Nepal

June 2, 2015 – Takukot, Nepal – With special thanks for this contribution to Jill Allison, Logistician with Team 3!

“Not sure the last set of photos loaded properly as we have only intermittent access to internet. I suppose it is a wonder we have any at all considering where we are. Mountain views and lots of activity in the village of Takuakot.

CMAT camp set up in the yard beside the ruins of the local police station.

The school is mandated to open tomorrow and they were hastily constructing cabin type classrooms – Nepal’s version of portables – today. Without enough skilled labour to rebuild key buildings quickly things get held up even as the will to return to normal is there. The lard school has cracks in every wall and gaping chasms on every floor. And yet, the teachers welcomed us as they were planning their program and invited us to sit for awhile as they did their work.

Elderly woman waiting to be assessed in the CMAT clinic in Takukot.

The clinic was much more organized but just as busy today. All good. Still seeing some earthquake related trauma and doing surveillance for diseases that haunt a disaster like spectres- cholera, typhoid, dengue, malnutrition and maternal health problems. Big wind and little rain tonight. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

CMAT Emergency Alert: Nepal Earthquake – Update #6

2015 - Nepal Earthquake, News

May 27, 2015 – Baluwa, Nepal

CMAT members meet with women and children of the Baluwa region in Nepal

Media Sources along with CMAT logistics resources have all reported that a river in northwestern Nepal has been blocked by a landslide, causing the formation of an artifical lake approximately 2 km long. Villages downstream are being evacuated, in case the landslide gives way. CMAT can confirm that Team 2 is working in a village which is several hundred kilometres to the east of this site, and remains safe.

Team 2 has been busy treating basic primary care issues in Baluwa and trekking to surrounding villages to follow up on some more serious cases, but the need there is quickly returning to pre-earthquake levels. The Health Cluster in Gorkha this week has also indicated that a particular neighbouring region was seeing a small surge of patients, and so CMAT sent a small strike team to this region to meet with the District Health representative. Pending confirmation, CMAT will be transitioning to this new area to assist in the surge capacity.

CMAT Medical team 3 deployed earlier today to Nepal from Vancouver and Toronto. Team 3 team members include:

CMAT Nurses conduct a well-baby check up in Baluwa, Nepal.

CMAT Medical Volunteers conduct a well-baby check up in Baluwa, Nepal.

Dr. James Lee, MD and Team Leader; Edmonton, AB
Jill Allison, Logistics; St. John’s, NL
Katie Dunham, RN; London, ON
Janna Hotson, RPN; Deep River, ON
Marie-Eve Pelchat, RN; Edmonton, AB
Dr. Rubert Kruhlak, MD; Edmonton, AB
Tracey Pugh, RN; Calgary, AB
Rebecca Morante, RN; Okotoks, AB
Dasha Johnston, RN; Edmonton, AB
Scott Haig, Paramedic, Vancouver, BC.

CMAT Team members have been trekking to high mountain villages, and through rice fields to deliver health care to patients who would otherwise go without.

CMAT would like to extend our sincerest and most heartfelt thanks to all our donors and corporate/ organizational sponsors for helping make this deployment such a success.

CMAT Emergency Alert – Earthquake in Nepal Update #4

2015 - Nepal Earthquake, News

Aftershocks continue to rock the area, including a 7.4 magnitude tremor which shook our team members this morning. Everyone is safe and accounted for.

May 12, 2015 – Baluwa, Nepal – CMAT Team 1 was sound asleep when another major quake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale shook them awake at 3:00 this morning. All team members are safe and accounted for, and there have not been any reports of injuries or deaths in the immediate vicinity. Virtually no one in the local communities remains in their homes as they are either all demolished or in severe disrepair. Families are sleeping under tarps or in the open.

Several teams have arrived into the area to help with the rebuilding process, and Nepali soldiers were reconstructing the school building adjacent to CMAT’s camp.

Nepali soldiers have arrived in Baluwa to help reconstruct the school adjacent to where CMAT team members are camping.

CMAT medical teams continue to see dozens of patients each day, and on one of the mobile medical clinics conducted in a high mountain village, team members intervened to help save the life of a small child who had been suffering acute diahrrea. After stabilizing the child and providing hydration, a helicopter was brought in to medi-evac the child to a centre which could provide a higher level of care.

CMAT Team members have been trekking to remote mountaintop villages to assess and treat patients who would otherwise not receive medical attention.

CMAT Team members have been trekking to remote mountaintop villages running mobile clinics to assess and treat patients who would otherwise not receive medical attention.

CMAT Medical team 2 is preparing to deploy to Nepal this coming weekend, and CMAT continues to rely on its generous donors for support. Donations can be made at at CanadaHelps, and any donations made by May 25th will be eligible to be matched by the Canadian government.