Frontline Health Workers ‘Critical’ In Addressing Burn Injuries
“…The global health crisis of burns afflicting more than 10 million people in developing countries annually can be tackled, but an expanded and improved health workforce is needed. … Beyond increasing the number of health workers, these workers must also be equipped to provide appropriate burn care by focusing on three areas: prevention, training and treatment,” Susan Hayes, president and CEO of ReSurge International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog. “…With National Burn Awareness Week approaching, let’s remain mindful that 95 percent of severe burns occur in developing countries. Frontline health workers will be critical in addressing the hidden crisis of burns, and policymakers here in the United States and around the world must ensure that more is done to ensure that burns are be prevented, managed and treated through an expanded and strengthened health workforce” (1/30).