Coronavirus: On the frontlines with Dr. Debra West

The Jerusalem Post News Editor Maayan Hoffman speaks with Dr. Debra West, Head of the Emergency Department at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital.

Dr. Debra West, Head of the Emergency Department at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dr. Debra West, Head of the Emergency Department at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital
(photo credit: Courtesy)
What's happening in Israel on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic? Watch live as Jerusalem Post News Editor Maayan Hoffman speaks with Dr. Debra West, head of the Emergency Department at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital. 
 
Dr. West earned her M.D. in Melbourne, Australia before making aliyah. As director of the National Israeli Graduate Course in Emergency Medicine, Dr. West trains all the emergency residents in Israel with interactive, simulation-based programs that she designed and implemented.  Procedures such as intubation and mechanical ventilation must be performed to perfection and this training certainly proved its worth in treating COVID-19 patients.
Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital is Israel's newest public hospital – a healthcare game changer for the half-million residents of the Ashdod region previously without a local hospital. Located just 16 miles from the Gaza Strip, the hospital was built with a unique bomb shelter design that protects patients and staff from missile attack and chemical warfare.
In the battle against coronavirus, the hospital mobilized to meet Israel's State of Emergency, and immediately established a Coronavirus Patient Care Department and Critical Coronavirus Care ICU. Assuta Ashdod has treated some of Israel's youngest coronavirus patients.
Watch live at 5:15  p.m. Israel time (10:15 a.m. EST)
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Among the questions that will be covered: 

Israel is opening up its economy. Is it safe?

Do you think the virus will die down in the summer? Will we see a second wave in the fall?

Will we see a 20% increase in coronavirus cases from opening up schools?

What does the new normal look like?
With the new economic pressures on many families, is Ashdod seeing more domestic violence, alcohol-related or other cases than before?

Was the lockdown necessary? Will we lose more lives from the lockdown than from coronavirus?