Canadian Medical Teams Head to China

The first team from the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams will depart today from Vancouver for Chengdu, the provincial capital of hardest-hit Sichuan province.

The first team that will be sent to China by the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams is set to leave. This team of five is composed of doctors and paramedics and will head for Chengdu, the provincial capital of hardest-hit Sichuan province. Two of the doctors are Chinese-Canadians who will assist both medically and with translation for the rest of the Canadian team. The team's first assignment is to determine within 48 hours whether a larger 10-member team should be sent. The physicians are volunteers, paying their own way to China, and will be working with the local emergency response officials. The need for such help is dire because the rescue efforts are winding down. Estimations are that the 7.9-magnitude quake that struck May 12 injured more than 200,000 people.