Local EMS crews, doctors return from Israel

07:00 PM CDT on Friday, September 17, 2004

KVUE News

Returning from a field trip to Israel, representatives of Austin emergency crews are ready to share new response methods to terrorism.

Some members of Austin's public safety and physician community spent ten days in Israel sharing information with Israeli response teams.

Their focus was terrorism.

Some say their mission, Operation Prepared Community, taught them about more than just dealing with terrorists.

"I think that one of the most important learnings that we had is that the efforts that we're gonna take to prepare for terroristic events will serve us well for every kind of natural event where there may be mass casualties, whether it's a hurricane, a tornado, a new emerging disease, flu in the community. These kinds of preparations will make the community better prepared in all these incidents, not just terrorism," explains Pat Crocker with Brackenridge Children's Hospital.