European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Everyone tries to do his Best coping with disaster by Janet d Agostino medical writer n aug 28.1988. Surgeon Jules Sellz was logging near his Home when 10 italian air Lorca cts roared past on their Way to dazzle crowds at inc ram Stem air show ten minutes later his Wile was driving by. Honking three of the planes had collided sending burning it Luck and hot Metal shards onto the crowd. Melotz was needed at Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center. The army colonel and Chiel of surgery was still in his logging clothes when patients began streaming into the Hospital some with their clothes still soldering we had 120 patients arrive in our emergency room in a 30 minute  said Seletz. Who was surgical coordinator Lor the disaster by being cold hearted and not gelling emotional about the children and the to table Burns by sticking to standards we were Able to get the Job  similar scenes were played out that afternoon in dozens of German hospitals some As far away As Fra Murt 70 Miles Northeast of Ramstein. Many of the German and american doctors nurses and other medical personnel had never Belore treated such Senous injuries and so Many patients at once. At least 450 people were injured. Reflecting on that Day doctors assert that Appio Nalo and Good medical care was Given at the scone and in the emergency rooms especially in Light of the catastrophic circumstances. Hospitals and various medical units were hindered by an inability to communicate effectively because of inadequate telecommunications equipment such As Telephone lines and radios. We knew perfectly Well with whom we had to speak we just could t gel through to them said or. Col Franklin Smith Deputy commander of clinical services a the Lan Stuhl Hospital Smith who was watching the air show Learned firsthand about the frustrating communication problems when he tried calling the Hospital from the air Huso control Tower i could t gel  medical personnel had diff Cully communicating Between Lan Stuhl and Ramstein Between the Gorman and american Rescue helicopters and even within Tho lands Uhl Hospital Itsell. Or. Col Lewis Kurke. Who was acting Hospital commander at Lan Stuhl the Day of the disaster said is choppers were hovering Over the Hospital s helicopter pad at one Point waiting to pick up patients. Medical personnel needed an emergency radio network to communicate directly with German and american hospitals and helicopter Rescue units that Day he said. Such a system did t exist. To improve coordination of emergency services of Licals representing the . Military and the West German state of Rheinland Slalz signed a Mutual Aid agreement last week. Tho document outlines a framework for coordinating emergency assistance Between . Installations and local communities. Specifics have yet to be ironed out Between of Licals irom us. Air Force and army bases and surrounding communities. Besides the communications troubles the medical care provided immediately alter the crash was a target Lor criticism. Some German doctors and emergency personnel criticized the americans for evacuating the injured irom the scene too quickly instead of first prov Ding More advanced life support. They also complained of incompatible intravenous equipment. Part of this criticism stemmed irom differing approaches to providing emergency care doctors said. Smith said the american approach to treating Accident victims depends on the nature of the Accident and injuries the availability of supplies and personnel. And the location of the nearest medical facility. Emergency treatment is not necessarily based on How military medical teams would operate in a wartime situation he said. The usual German procedure is to give More advanced first Aid to patients at an Accident scene Belore they Are moved to a Hospital said or. Otmar victims Ottha disaster at Ramstein a Are Given emergency Aid. At least 450people were injured and brought to . And German hospitals. A photos by Dav Edidio Trelz. Professor of surgery and chief of the trauma Center at the University of Saarland Hospital in Homburg Saar however. Trelz said at Ramstein it was better to move patients quickly because there were Many hospitals nearby and because the injuries were so serious and numerous. My personal opinion is that the policy was Correct to Transfer them  or. Werner Overbeck chief of the surgical department at Kaiserslautern City Hospital also said medical care Given by the germans and americans was appropriate in this situation everybody tries to do his  a study released less than two months after the Accident by officials of Rheinland Pfalz the West German state in which Ramstein is located concluded that emergency medical procedures used after the Accident were flawed but adequate. Interior minister Rudi cell said when the report was released that most injured patients received sufficient first Aid either at the air base or at the Lan Stuhl Hospital. In reviewing the actions of the two countries medical teams Trentz said it would be useful if americans and germans could agree on an emergency evacuation plan for any future disasters involving both nationalities having one group clearly in charge at the Accident scene would have made the assessment and Transfer of patients move More smoothly Trentz said. His 1,800 bed Saarland Hospital received 47 patients the majority of whom had second and third degree Burns covering from 5 percent to 90 percent of their bodies. But Smith said with so Many people spread Over such a Large area and with medical Rescue teams from different countries it is difficult to centralize control. It just does t happen that Way he said. Overbeck said that As a surgeon he was hindered by not having enough information about How Many patients were coming to the 900-bed City Hospital from the Accident scene or How severely they were injured. You can t Start operating without knowing if you Are going to be receiving More severe injuries. We could not get information about what was going  he said the Hospital received 102 patients from the Ramstein Accident within 75 minutes. As a result of the Ramstein disaster some minor changes have been made in the Lan Stuhl Hospital s mass casualty plan such As establishing the information desk As the command and control Center and making available medical supplies from the Hospital s crisis response team Smith said. The key to handling a disaster is having trained personnel adequate supplies and a Good facility Seletz said. We had All three that  Smith concurred. Given the circumstances. We did what needed to be done in about As Good effective and efficient a Way As  Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday August 27,1989