Rehabilitation for burn survivors in Taiwan

After a family meeting, a relative of one of the victims said with tears in her eyes: “Before attending this meeting, I had no idea that we have such a long road ahead of us…”

Following the major explosion that took place at the Formosa Fun Coast Water Park and that injured close to 500 youths, Sunshine Foundation mobilized its staff to respond to the needs of the victims and the families affected by the tragedy, as well as the needs of professionals working with the victims.

At this point, helping parents and family members cope with stress and reduce their anxiety is extremely important. A burn accident, especially one the scope of the June 27^th Formosa Water Park Explosion, catches people off guard. At that moment, family members of the victim are left feeling helpless, anxious and at a loss about what comes next. Caught up in dealing with the immediate need for emergency medical care, many parents cannot fathom what the future of their child will be, let alone the challenges they will face in the next few months. Indeed, many people unfamiliar with burns believe that once their child leaves hospital, all will be well, whereas in fact, this is when the difficult process of rehabilitation begins.

Apart from providing appropriate psychological support to family members through a special Help Hotline set up just two days after the incident, Sunshine has also begun to hold support meeting for family members of the victims, to help them understand the recovery and rehabilitation process of their child, answer their questions and address their worries. During these meetings, social workers of Sunshine help explain the physical and rehabilitation process after burns, as well as introduce the services and resources that Sunshine can provide burn survivors and their families. Already, two meetings have been held on July 8 and 11, with three more to be held on July 15, 19 and 22. Furthermore, Sunshine will also be working with hospitals to hold similar meetings in the hospital with family members, or in the case where some hospitals have fewer numbers of burn patients (less than five families), Sunshine will arrange individual counseling for family members.

Apart from psychological support for families, social workers and therapists of Sunshine have begun holding special trainings for professionals involved in the care of the explosion victims. The Formosa Water Park Explosion resulted in a huge number of people sustaining major burn injuries, suddenly increasing the need for relevant burn services. Various agencies are now mobilizing their staff to provide assistance to victims and their family, however, many professionals are not familiar with burns and might not feel equipped to deal with the various uncertainties that might arise due to the particularities of burns. In order to give professionals the tools and knowledge to deal with this crisis, Sunshine began organizing on July 4 special training courses targeting social workers and psychologists, with the aim of increasing their burn-related knowledge. Courses for therapists (physical and occupation therapists), as well as volunteers involved in support work are now being held as well. Sunshine Foundation has over 30 years of experience in burn rehabilitation and is ready to share its expertise, the idea being to strengthen the abilities of every professional involved in the care of the burn victims in order to create a strong and efficient service network.