Fairfax nurse to provide medical aid in Gaza

A Fairfax pediatric nurse who has participated in humanitarian medical aid missions from Syria to Panama is now headed to Gaza.

Sandy Adler, a nurse for 15 years, sees her work as an ethical imperative. She said she eschews the politics of any conflict she works in and prioritizes medical treatment for the vulnerable.

“When I do projects like this, it is such a powerful thing to let the population know that they are not forgotten, that we care about them and that we are here to help,” she said. “My heart is always out to help those that are in the most difficult situations.”

A resident of Ross Valley for nearly 30 years, Adler has worked as an emergency room and pediatric nurse for Kaiser Permanente East Bay, primarily in Richmond. She also manages a private lactation consultant practice in Marin.

Adler is working with CADUS, a nonprofit and independent aid organization in Berlin. The group works in conjunction with the World Health Organization to provide aid during catastrophes, including in active conflict zones.

Adler will be in Gaza for 17 days.

The trip will take her initially to Berlin for hostile environment training, and then to Cairo, where she will pass the border and settle in Rafah, a city of approximately 150,000 in the southern Gaza Strip.

“We will be dealing with a desperate population who will be in dire need of food and medical care within a conflict zone, so our mission again may continue to change,” she said.

Adler said she will provide medical aid in Rafah to assist with overburdened hospitals and dwindling resources alongside the Palestinian Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross. She said the Palestinians are struggling with food insecurity and a razed infrastructure.

The war began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel invaded Gaza, which has a population of about 2.3 million people, and the war has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The prospect of working in a conflict zone is a bit scary, Adler said, but the group she will serve communicates with the Israeli military to inform it of the medical work, Adler said.

“They are aware of where we will be,” she said. “For me, my apprehension seeing their dire conditions and having limited ability to really make a significant difference. That definitely is going to come up for me.”

Adler has made humanitarian aid trips to Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Greece, Puerto Rico, Syria and Lebanon.

In 2023, she served alongside other medical practitioners to help victims of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which caused approximately 60,000 deaths.

“My intention is always to be focused on providing medical care to the most marginalized and at times forgotten populations around the globe,” she said.

Sireen Jaber, another nurse, worked with Adler in the earthquake zone.

“Sandy has tremendous scope of experience in different areas around the world. She is very passionate about helping those in need,” Jaber said. “She takes the time to understand them and care for them to the best of her ability.”

Adler and Jaber then went on to Lebanon, where they cared for refugees living in camps.

“Being there to support them and give an extra hand and extra knowledge really does make an impact,” Jaber said.

Juli Vitas, a former surgical nurse from San Rafael, has been on missions herself — “but not to a war zone.” Vitas said Adler’s commitment set her apart.

“We are all frightened for where she is going, but I am so proud of her,” said Vitas, who worked at Marin General Hospital, now MarinHealth Medical Center, for 35 years.

Vitas and Adler met 29 years ago through their children, who were friends. Vitas said Adler’s altruism was exemplified by her effort to earn a nursing degree in her 50s, following a stint as a park ranger.

“I thought she was crazy,” Vitas said. “But this is what she does. She lives to truly help people.”