1.13

1/13
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/147/fast-talk-hocine-bouhabib.html
Bouhabib, 43, worked with Doctors Without Borders' R&D teams to transform inflatable tent structures into fully functioning hospitals.
"In 2004, we saw these inflatable tents that had been developed for the Italian Army and approached the manufacturer directly, hoping to develop a hospital with surgical facilities. When we first tried it out in 2005, after the earthquake in Pakistan, setup took almost twice as long as it did in Haiti in January. The hospital itself is nine tents, totaling 1,400 square meters, with 100 beds. But the process isn't just inflating tents. It's setting up all the electric, all the supplies. It's putting the biomedical equipment in place, testing it, making sure it's operational. We use PVC walls and floors to create a completely sealed structure within the tents, which keeps it clean and sterile and makes the tents flexible. Initially, we needed more operating theaters. As time goes on, we need more room for general medical activity. We recently opened an outpatient department."
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/147/fast-talk-patricia-menezes.html
……**…Menezes, 52, oversaw IBM's recent relief efforts in Chile, using open-source software to find missing persons and helping start communities on the long road to emotional recovery.
"Sahana is an open-source disaster-management tool, which was developed by the Lanka Software Foundation. We set it up, install it, donate the servers, support translations, and train volunteers. We can customize it and make it efficient and productive for particular communities. After the February quake in Chile, we used the database feature in multiple Red Cross camps and shelters to reunite families. You enter very specific characteristics of a missing person, from height to hair color to skin tone. The more specific, the more accurate the database is. We used Sahana after the 2007 earthquake in Peru. This time, we were able to get the program up and running very fast because it had already been translated into Spanish.
We've also partnered with medical experts to develop trauma guides for families, parents, and teachers. Kids return to school and they are scared, the teachers are scared. Especially in natural disasters, people feel helpless. They think, 'How can I handle this? How can I fight this? It's nature.' The guides can help them start the transition back to normalcy."
****************************************************************************************