Domestic HADR Missions
As one of the most important national strategic medical assets, Taiwan MHS has long been the indispensable backbone of national disaster medical system with footprints present in each and every major domestic disaster scenarios. Each day, medical teams contributed by armed forces hospitals augmented by health service support teams contributed by field medical units stand ready to deploy and execute disaster medical support missions.
From 2008 to September 2016, a total of 1195 medical teams had been activated and deployed to render HADR medical support under 21 natural and man-made disaster scenarios. A total of 11,990 patients/casualties had been cared for by medical teams of Taiwan MHS and more than 328 cases of medical evacuation had been carried out.
International HADR Missions
Taiwan MHS has also been very active in International HADR medical support missions. Guided by policy directives from the government, MAB collaborates with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and NGOs such as Taiwan Red Cross and Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation in manning, training, and material provisioning necessary for international HADR medical missions on short notice.
From 2010 to 2016, Taiwan MHS’ international HADR medical mission footprints have included Haitian Earthquake in 2010, The Philippines, and Palau, to name just a few.
To further regional & international health engagement and actively participate in international HADR medical missions, volunteers consisting of students from medical, nursing, and public health schools of NDMC and medical staffs from TSGH, in partnership with domestic and international NGOs, have in recent years dispatched HADR medical teams, rendering medical as well as public health services to disadvantaged local populations of friendly frontier countries.
Medical specialists dispatched by Taiwan MHS to Burkina Faso, providing healthcare services to the local population, have partnered with local health authority on several public health cooperation and collaboration projects for more than 20 years. To ensure that local population in Burkina Faso have access to quality specialist consultation & care, Taiwan MHS has already established telemedicine links between medical facilities in Burkina Faso and Taiwan for years.
In recent years Taiwan MHS has task-organized & dispatched numerous medical teams to provide medical services to local population, and to build up public health and emerging infectious diseases prevention capacity and capability of allied & friendly countries.
Aeromedical Evacuation Capacity
Aeromedical Evacuation community of Taiwan MHS ceaselessly enhances capability and accumulates experience in order to make the best out of lessons learned over the years since its inception, aimed at contributing to the healthcare of Taiwan Armed Forces members and the broader international communities.
The Eurocopter EC-225 is the latest aeromedical evacuation platform acquired by Taiwan air force in a bid to significantly improve short-to-mid haul lineup. With the acquisition and deployment of EC-225 aeromedical evacuation platform along with its “ICU in the air “unique capability, Taiwan MHS has greatly enhanced its critical care air transport capability for patients and casualties under peacetime, wartime, or even HADR scenarios. In 2014 and 2015, we had successfully evacuated 2 patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) using EC-225 and C-130 from offshore islands to the Taiwan Proper. These were precious lessons learned for us to improve our aeromedical evacuation capability.