EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ARCHIVES
Hospital Preparedness 2010: Are Additional Advances Possible?
Craig DeAtley
December 16, 2009
A greater focus on NIMS objectives seems likely, as well as some HICS modifications. But the possibility of maintaining recent-year funding levels is already very unlikely, and the final version of the healthcare-reform bill, if enacted, has yet to be determined.
First-Person Report – Forecast 2010: A New Model for Disaster Management
Mark Merritt
December 16, 2009
When the moisture level in Iowa climbed several inches, and then several feet, last year, the residents of the Hawkeye state knew they were in for a very wet summer. The still-ongoing recovery process from the 2008 drenching required several new approaches, a courageous decision by the governor, and some
2010: Will It Be ‘The Year of the IMT’?
Stephen Grainer
December 9, 2009
Eight years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks U.S. planners say that the nation is now “better” prepared than it was in 2001 – but not yet totally prepared. What they do not say is that total preparedness is a philosophical as well as financial impossibility. Continued improvements are the second
Emergency Preparedness in Healthcare – 2010 & Beyond
Theodore Tully
December 9, 2009
Emergency planners, political and budget decision makers, and the general public are almost always more focused on preparing for last year’s hurricane than they are concerned about this year’s sudden earthquake, or tsunami, or – much more likely – long-predicted pandemic. Which is why common sense must sometimes take precedence.
An Opportunity Beckons: Converging Disaster Recovery and Infrastructure Resilience
Dennis R. Schrader
December 2, 2009
Prevention – of terrorist attacks and/or other mass-casualty incidents – is and must be the first priority in homeland security. But when, not if, prevention fails, as it sometimes will, recovery and resilience move to center stage. The problem is that much has been accomplished in those areas, but much
Destination Decisions: Back to the Future, Again and Again
Joseph Cahill
December 2, 2009
Ambulance drivers, EMTs, and other responders may not yet be able to perform brain surgery or heart transplants at the accident scene – but that time might be not too far off, thanks to rapid and continuing advances in medical technology, ultrasound and data-retrieval systems, and other scientific breakthroughs.
DMORT Teams and Their Role in MFIs
Frank P. Saul
November 24, 2009
Recent-year increases in the number of mass-fatality incidents, combined with the increasingly bizarre nature of some of those incidents, have led to the formation of specially trained medico-legal teams to deal with the on-site aftermath. This is their story, which is more complicated, and sophisticated, than anything seen on national
Expanding the Definition of Public Health
Raphael M. Barishansky
November 24, 2009
The field of medicine has come a long, long way from the early 20th-century tradition of family doctors, homespun remedies, and much lower life expectancies. People are healthier today, and usually live longer lives, but the technology of terror also has grown exponentially, creating a need for a new public-health
Supply on Demand: The Strategic National Stockpile
Kate Rosenblatt
November 18, 2009
One of the most important, best managed, but only theoretically “secret” weapon in the U.S. defense arsenal is the Strategic National Stockpile (of medicines, pharmaceuticals, and other life-saving goods and materials needed to counter biological and/or chemical “incidents,” including terrorist attacks). Fortunately, this weapon is designed to save lives, not
Biopreparedness and the Hydra of Bioterrorism
Diana Hopkins
November 11, 2009
Science is wonderful! Except when it is not. One of the almost inevitable problems facing researchers in the biological sciences is how to ensure that their discoveries are used to benefit mankind. Unfortunately, achieving that enviable goal may be a true Mission Impossible.
Mortuary Services & The Lessons Learned From Real-Life Tragedy
Jennifer Smither
November 11, 2009
First responders do their utmost to save the lives of those seriously injured in mass-casualty incidents. Medical examiners and local volunteers have what is sometimes a more difficult job: identifying the bodies, “processing” the remains, and notifying the victims’ families.
New and Emerging Al Qaeda Threats
Neil C. Livingstone
November 11, 2009
The term “global war on terrorism” is now politically incorrect, in at least some circles. There is mounting evidence, though, that some terrorists do not agree and are already planning new attacks against domestic targets on the U.S. homeland.
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