Salem Hospital's Dr. Ron Rosen Returns from Hurricane Relief Work

Salem Hospital’s Ron Rosen, M.D., of Salem, recently returned from a 10-day mission trip in Louisiana with Massachusetts Task Force 1 to help with devastation relief efforts from Hurricane Ida. The flooding, structural damage, and mental and physical toll the storm took on residents was tremendous. Dr. Rosen’s team worked to assess the safety of buildings and downed wires, locate and treat stranded residents and deliver basic necessities, such as food and water, all while taking extra COVID-19 safety precautions.

“A rise in COVID-19 cases coupled with damage from the storm has left too many residents displaced, says Dr. Rosen, Salem Hospital’s Chief of Geriatrics. “Hospitals are at capacity and flooding and power outages have forced facilities, such as nursing homes, to relocate operations to nearby warehouses with generators.”

Stationed just north of New Orleans, Dr. Rosen and the team faced challenging conditions. “It was 90 degrees, and we were wearing N95 masks patrolling neighborhoods,” he says. “While this was not the first major hurricane to hit the area, it was the first time many residents had received help so rapidly. Their gratitude for anything we provided -- from ice water to medical attention – was incredible and motivates me to do this work.”

Massachusetts Task Force 1 is an exceptionally talented Urban Search and Rescue Team and is headquartered in Beverly, MA. When natural disasters, domestic terrorism and bio-chemical catastrophes strike, Massachusetts Task Force 1, a group of nearly 200 trained volunteer civilians and K-9s, comprised of experts from doctors and engineers to hazmat specialists and rescue teams, deploy under contract with FEMA and risk their lives to help others in their greatest time of need.

This is Dr. Rosen’s 16th year as part of the rescue squad. He previously participated in local relief efforts after the tornadoes in Springfield and damage from Hurricane Irene.

What makes the Massachusetts Task Force 1 unique, he says, is its volunteer culture. The civilians who make up the Beverly-based group dedicate one day each month for training, hosted by the City of Beverly, and can be ready for deployment within six hours of notification by FEMA.

“These are the most brave, selfless, hardworking and disciplined people I’ve ever worked with,” says Dr. Rosen. “When we travel together, we become a family. It’s an incredible privilege and honor to be part of the team.”

Dr. Rosen is now back on the frontlines at Salem Hospital, one of the state’s hardest-hit community hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. He continues to care for our most at-risk residents overseeing many patients who live in local nursing homes and long-term care facilities as well as working with Care Dimensions as a hospice physician.