Getting Help in Emergencies in Super-Quick Time

In Syria, medical personnel are at risk of death as hospitals are frequent targets of bombing. With few medical specialists treating an assortment of injuries and diseases under the most dangerous circumstances, doctors began an underground network. This network installs cameras in hospital rooms to send pictures over mobile media to doctors abroad, doctors working on-site change their names, and animal waste powers the operations.

Two columns on Time Banks, where people swap services – teach calligraphy to one neighbor, and get computer repair from another neighbor. Time Banks create community and make people healthier – which is why hospitals and clinics are now starting them.

Several universities have stocked undesignated epinephrine autoinjectors in their dining halls to provide life-saving immediate care during allergic reactions, increasing students' sense of safety and confidence when dining on campus.

Emergency Response Africa connects patients with first responders, ambulances and emergency-ready hospitals so they can get the care they need as quickly as possible. A 24-hour command center that can be reached by phone or mobile app dispatches the emergency response team of trained paramedics, which then brings the patient to one of the 82 verified emergency hospitals. Since it was established in 2021, Emergency Response Africa has received 1,243 emergency calls.

Search and rescue teams in Utqiaġvik and North Slope Borough, Alaska, work together with the coast guard to run rescue operations that budgetary and training restrictions would not allow them to do alone.

To address a shortage of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, community members have begun to take on the task of producing face masks for medical professionals. From sewing masks to creating face shields with a 3D printer at a local library, communities are organizing and organizations are partnering to, at least temporarily, solve the problem.

People in Bend, Oregon have turned to social media in order to help at-risk community members during the coronavirus pandemic. Utilizing Facebook Groups to connect with one another, the moderators aim to conduct "acts of kindness that are most easily crowdsourced" such as picking up groceries or walking a neighbor's dog.

In Costa Rica, a group of volunteer firefighters use donated equipment, gear, and their own cell phones to fill in a big gap in emergency services. More residents are now accustomed to calling them directly for fires and other emergencies, and the community supports them financially. The firefighters are trying to integrate their work into the country's emergency alert system and to build their own fire station.

When disaster strikes, ordinary citizens are often the first people on the scene. Bangladesh is helping people prepare for emergencies by offering free three-day trainings in search and rescue techniques, first aid, and other skills. The program reached roughly 30,000 people in the first four years, but keeping it funded is a challenge.

An average of 28,000 children born in the U.S. each year die before their first birthday – and many more face disabilities and serious life-long health problems, often because they are born prematurely or at low birth weights. A free service, text4baby, delivers crucial health advice via text message to pregnant women and new mothers.