CBS-Affiliate KMEG 14's Steve Long (Sioux City, IA) Reports:
A Sioux City doctor is getting ready to fly halfway around the world, to help injured Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Reporter Steve Long met the doctor and explains why he is reaching out to those suffering so far away from our hometowns.
He leaves Sioux City on Wednesday morning before sunrise with stops in Minneapolis and New York before arriving in Cairo, Egypt on Thursday. The big question: Why is a doctor from Sioux City going all the way to Gaza?
There is a fragile ceasefire now in place between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, but in the process of the fighting, over a thousand Palestinians died and several thousand more were injured.
"There's a crisis there and they need help. I'm trained to give that kind of help," Dr. Rick Colwell says.
Dr. Rick Colwell is an emergency room physician at St. Luke's and one of nine U.S. doctors and four from Canada leaving on a 10-day mission to Gaza, providing relief to doctors there overwhelmed with recent need.
"This is through the Islamic Medical Association of North America and I have actually done relief work with them before. In 2005, the earthquake in Pakistan, through this organization I went over there and worked in the Himalayan Mountains," says Dr. Colwell.
His wife Eena is originally from Pakistan. They met about a decade ago in Des Moines and Dr. Colwell is himself now a Muslim. Their seven-month-old daughter's name is Emaan, which he says means faith. And faith plays into Dr. Colwell's trip to Gaza.
"You try to do things that you think God would want you to do. It's to please God first and second would be to help the people that are there, that need so much help," says Dr. Colwell.
Help that is now on the way.
They don't know exactly what to expect when they get there, they may not even be let into Gaza. But if they're not, they have arrangements to help wounded Palestinians from Gaza at a hospital in Egypt.
This story also appeared on KPTH Fox 44 (Sioux City, IA).
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Brief Conversation with Illinois Radiologist Dr. Imran Qureshi
AMMG: Why are you heading to Gaza?
IQ: The Gazan civilians are incurring tremendous difficulties. Without access to electricity, food, and medical care, many of the injured are not getting proper care. It is my hope--along with the rest of the IMANA medical relief team--to help the situation in any small way that we can. We feel that we can use our training to provide some relief (albeit small) to the existing medical infrastructure. Our secondary goal is to draw attention to the medical situation in Gaza and inspire subsequent teams to follow suit and volunteer their services.
IQ: The Gazan civilians are incurring tremendous difficulties. Without access to electricity, food, and medical care, many of the injured are not getting proper care. It is my hope--along with the rest of the IMANA medical relief team--to help the situation in any small way that we can. We feel that we can use our training to provide some relief (albeit small) to the existing medical infrastructure. Our secondary goal is to draw attention to the medical situation in Gaza and inspire subsequent teams to follow suit and volunteer their services.
AMMG: Even with the cease fire, Israeli troops remain in Gaza and the possibility that hostilities resume looms. How are you handling the risks associated with going into a war zone?
IQ: As a team, we are informing the State Department and the Egyptian Ministry of Health about our services. We do understand that this does not guarantee our safety and we will have to use common sense to stay out of danger. Nevertheless, the team understands that there is an inherent risk to entering Gazan territories despite the ceasefire.
AMMG: How can other Americans support you in your mission to aid suffering civilians in Gaza?
Dr. Imran Qureshi is an interventional radiologist from Naperville, Illinois and serves as Medical Director of Interventional Radiology at Rush Copley Hospital in Aurora, Illinois. He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1999.
Monday, January 19, 2009
1/19/09 Coverage
UN says Gaza hospitals are in crisis
Sioux City doctor, Dr. Rick Colwell, headed to Gaza
Salt Lake City's Dr. Irfan Galaria is profiled on CBS-affiliate KUTV before departing for Gaza
Sioux City doctor, Dr. Rick Colwell, headed to Gaza
Salt Lake City's Dr. Irfan Galaria is profiled on CBS-affiliate KUTV before departing for Gaza
American Doctors Prepare to Depart for Gaza
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lombard, IL (January 19, 2009)- Nine American and four Canadian doctors are preparing to depart on a 10-day mission to bring desperately needed medical assistance to Palestinians living in Gaza. The group is sponsored by the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) in conjunction with the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations.
“With the number of injured reported, the need for medical assistance is paramount,” said Dr. Ismail Mehr, an anesthesiologist from Hornell, NY who is leading the mission to Gaza. “Any community would be challenged handling that kind of volume, and Gaza is one of the world’s poorest. We are eager to assist in anyway we can.”
Officials at World Health Organization report over 5,200 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli strikes – including 1552 children, 652 women, and 22 healthcare personnel. With recent attacks on three major hospitals in Gaza and with remaining medical facilities understaffed and inadequately equipped, attention is being drawn to the overwhelming humanitarian need.
“Bombs are being dropped on hospitals while doctors are treating the wounded. That’s a very challenging environment to practice medicine,” said Dr. Imran Qureshi, an interventional radiologist from Chicago. “Our mission is to provide any assistance we can to help innocent civilians receive medical care.”
"The medical needs in Gaza are overwhelming, and the current medical infrastructure cannot keep up with the current demands. Recent strikes at three of the largest hospitals underscore the urgency of these needs," said Dr. Shariq Sayeed, a vascular surgeon from Atlanta and veteran of medical relief work in Pakistan following the 2006 earthquake. "We hope to lend our skills and services to aid the suffering civilian population, and to show that Americans do care, and always will care for innocent victims."
The multidisciplinary team of volunteers also includes Dr. Irfan Galaria, a plastic surgeon from Salt Lake City, Dr. Kanwal Shazia Chaudhry, a pediatric emergency specialist from New York City, and Dr. Rick Colwell, an emergency room doctor from Iowa. Ahmed Kasem, an attorney with the California firm, Kasem, Ko & Ahmed, has volunteered to assist with logistics. The team will bring medical supplies purchased by IMANA in Egypt into Gaza with them. Nine doctors are scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday, January 22nd, with the rest arriving on January 26th.
Lombard, IL (January 19, 2009)- Nine American and four Canadian doctors are preparing to depart on a 10-day mission to bring desperately needed medical assistance to Palestinians living in Gaza. The group is sponsored by the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) in conjunction with the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations.
“With the number of injured reported, the need for medical assistance is paramount,” said Dr. Ismail Mehr, an anesthesiologist from Hornell, NY who is leading the mission to Gaza. “Any community would be challenged handling that kind of volume, and Gaza is one of the world’s poorest. We are eager to assist in anyway we can.”
Officials at World Health Organization report over 5,200 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli strikes – including 1552 children, 652 women, and 22 healthcare personnel. With recent attacks on three major hospitals in Gaza and with remaining medical facilities understaffed and inadequately equipped, attention is being drawn to the overwhelming humanitarian need.
“Bombs are being dropped on hospitals while doctors are treating the wounded. That’s a very challenging environment to practice medicine,” said Dr. Imran Qureshi, an interventional radiologist from Chicago. “Our mission is to provide any assistance we can to help innocent civilians receive medical care.”
"The medical needs in Gaza are overwhelming, and the current medical infrastructure cannot keep up with the current demands. Recent strikes at three of the largest hospitals underscore the urgency of these needs," said Dr. Shariq Sayeed, a vascular surgeon from Atlanta and veteran of medical relief work in Pakistan following the 2006 earthquake. "We hope to lend our skills and services to aid the suffering civilian population, and to show that Americans do care, and always will care for innocent victims."
The multidisciplinary team of volunteers also includes Dr. Irfan Galaria, a plastic surgeon from Salt Lake City, Dr. Kanwal Shazia Chaudhry, a pediatric emergency specialist from New York City, and Dr. Rick Colwell, an emergency room doctor from Iowa. Ahmed Kasem, an attorney with the California firm, Kasem, Ko & Ahmed, has volunteered to assist with logistics. The team will bring medical supplies purchased by IMANA in Egypt into Gaza with them. Nine doctors are scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday, January 22nd, with the rest arriving on January 26th.
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