EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ARCHIVES
Field-Proven Medical Skills for Law-Enforcement Units
Joseph W. Trindal
October 27, 2010
Thanks to major improvements in military medical care, even on the battlefield itself, the U.S. combat KIA (killed in action) casualty rate has declined dramatically for more than half a century. Question: Could the same medical skills, training, and equipment be used to reduce the KIA rate of U.S. police
Technology and Equipment: Training Needed on Both
Jennifer Smither
October 26, 2010
Baltimore knows, and so do the great states of Oregon and Pennsylvania, that the first requirement in preparedness training is having the right type of equipment – in the quantities needed to meet all possible contingencies. The “other” first requirement is to ensure that all users of that equipment are
U.S. Vaccine Development: Expediting the Process
Diana Hopkins
October 20, 2010
Influenza and many other diseases spread with the speed of summer lightning. The “cure” for these frequently fatal viruses moves at a much slower pace – largely because the testing and validation processes take so long. Fortunately, there are new approaches coming into play to expedite those processes while still
Hospital Emergency Planning: Hospitals Qualify as Critical Infrastructure
Theodore Tully
October 20, 2010
How does one define “critical”? Far too often in today’s interconnected world, that important designation is awarded retrospectively – i.e., after a terroristic attack or major weather disaster. A credible case can be made, though, that major hospitals and other healthcare facilities deserve that description because of their intrinsic value
Another Look at EMS Staffing in Action
Joseph Cahill
October 13, 2010
As this year’s U.S. elections clearly demonstrate, there is a built-in conflict between voters’ desire for more and improved services and the equally compelling requirement, at all levels of government, to reduce expenditures. In the field of emergency medical services, this problem is particularly difficult to resolve because not only
Functional Needs Support Services: A New Paradigm in Emergency Shelter Operations
Bruce Clements
October 13, 2010
Everyone in any given community throughout the world suffers when a hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster occurs. Those who suffer the most, though, are usually those already suffering from other problems, specifically including medical impairments that make it difficult to function on their own, or even with assistance. Fortunately, new
The Reality of On-Scene Medical Control Physicians
Raphael M. Barishansky
October 6, 2010
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system in the United States functions primarily under the philosophy that EMS should – as efficiently as possible – assess, treat, and then quickly transport a patient to the appropriate hospital for definitive treatment by physicians. If needed, Medical Control (MC) is supplied off-line in
Emerging Trends in CBRN Detection – Moving Forward
Glen Rudner
September 29, 2010
The goal is clear: to protect the U.S. homeland from CBRN attacks today, tomorrow, and far into the future. But the race – against an implacable enemy – is endless, there are numerous gaps and pitfalls blocking the way forward, and the winner may not necessarily be the runner who
Nuclear Smuggling: Detection Challenges & Hasty Acquisition
Joseph W. Trindal
September 22, 2010
The Department of Homeland Security’s Customs & Border Protection branch has several immensely important responsibilities. There is no other challenge, though, quite so daunting as its primary duty of keeping nuclear weapons and/or devices from entering any of the more than 300 U.S. ports of entry from overseas. Making that
Resilience: Developing Professionalism, Clarifying the Incentives
Dennis R. Schrader
September 15, 2010
The QHSR, the BUR, NFPA, and PS-Prep are marching in lockstep in their combined efforts to upgrade the nation’s awareness of resilience as a primary goal of preparedness planning, training, and implementation. Here are some helpful guidelines that political decision makers, budget managers, and operating professionals alike might find useful
A Primer on PPE Training for Tactical Officers
Richard Schoeberl
September 15, 2010
Personal Protective Equipment, particularly and specifically including PPE clothing, provides excellent but not 100 percent guaranteed safety against the CBRNE weapons and devices that are the terrorists’ weapons of choice in today’s increasingly dangerous world. But using PPE properly and effectively takes both time and training, and can add significantly
DomPrep Survey: PS-Prep, Is It Relevant
Domestic Preparedness
September 15, 2010
In this latest Survey, DomPrep asked members of the “DomPrep40” about the relevance – to their own programs and professional communities – of the so-called PS-Prep (Public Sector Preparedness) program mandated and authorized under Public Law 110-53. Here is a brief summary, by Albert Romano, of the sometimes surprising answers
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