EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ARCHIVES
Protecting Subway Riders from a Chemical Attack
Joselito S. Ignacio
March 28, 2012
The numbers are staggering – U.S. subway systems carry literally billions of passengers every year, while all of the nation’s airlines combined carry less than one billion! Today, airline passenger screening is routine, and reasonably thorough. However, there is little if any screening of subway passengers, making subways an easier
A Helping Hand from the Defense CBRN Response Force
Jamie Stowe
March 28, 2012
The recent upgrading of the Defense Department’s former CBRN Consequence Management Response Force means that states, cities, and smaller communities throughout the country will have much greater medical response capabilities – personnel as well as equipment – than was ever before possible.
Libya’s Missing Chemical Caches: The Weapons of Armageddon?
Richard Schoeberl
March 27, 2012
There are several “known” unknowns – namely, how to develop, produce, and deploy chemical and biological weapons that are more toxic than ever before possible. There also are some “unknown” unknowns, the most important of which is this: Where are the tons of chemical weapons that disappeared from Libya’s reported
Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) Roundtable
W. Ross Ashley
March 27, 2012
In the 21st century, combatting terrorism could be as simple as seeing something and saying something. Suspicious activity may signify terrorist activity, but that can only be determined if the right information gets into the right hands. Listen to W. Ross Ashley’s audio roundtable discussion on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity
The Detection Triage – A Systematic Approach to Identification
Glen Rudner
March 21, 2012
Success in any field of human endeavor usually requires not only education and training but also having at hand the best “tools” available to do the job – no matter what that job entails. In hazmat or CBRNE incidents, the tools used by emergency responders include a broad array of
Equipment Standardization – A New-Old Approach
Jordan Nelms
March 21, 2012
The so-called “standardization” of equipment is intended to lower costs, simplify procurement decisions, and also improve training and operational capabilities – theoretically, at least. When the standards previously approved are not followed, though, or are simply ignored, new and complex difficulties follow in short order. When those difficulties complicate CBRNE
New HazMat Challenges for Modern EMS Units
Joseph Cahill
March 14, 2012
In today’s increasingly complex and ever more dangerous world, EMS units in U.S. communities both large and small are learning to cope with a broad spectrum of mass-casualty incidents and events never before encountered by their predecessors. Here are a few common-sense cost, training, political, legal, and operational suggestions that
Advances in Medical Countermeasures for Chemical Terrorism
Bruce Clements
March 13, 2012
With the potential to kill thousands in a single attack, chemical warfare agents have been an ongoing threat to nations around the world since World War I. Although efforts have been made to reduce the production and stockpiling of these deadly chemicals, there remains a need not only to stockpile
Hospital Preparedness for ‘Chemical/Detergent’ Suicides
Craig DeAtley
March 7, 2012
The Hospital Accreditation Standards established by The Joint Commission, and followed by almost all of the nation’s healthcare facilities, mandate that U.S. hospitals should be prepared to decontaminate patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials. However, although thousands of incidents involving hazardous materials occur annually in the United
Needed: ‘Off-the-Shelf’ Solutions for CBRN Protection
James Wilcox
March 7, 2012
Ready to Wear – When There Is No Time to Spare! That is, or should be, the slogan of the far-sighted and foresighted PPE clothing and equipment manufacturers who recognize that there is absolutely no time that can be wasted when a CBRN incident occurs and that first responders must
Emergency Responses to CDLs: The Hidden Dangers
Christina Spoons
February 29, 2012
Meth labs are another clear and present danger not only to individual users and the nation as a whole, but also to the lab workers, innocent “civilians” living in the same neighborhood, and – most of all, perhaps – firefighters and other first responders who are risking their own lives
Addiction in Emergency Services: Coworkers Help, Denial Hurts
Victor Welzant
February 22, 2012
Major stress and constant pressure are all part of the job for emergency-services personnel and other responders. A less obvious but greater danger is caused by drug and alcohol addictions. Professional help is available, but not always wanted. What is most needed, and in the long term most effective, is
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