Hospitals Archives

All Models Are Wrong (But Modeling Is as Necessary as Ever)

Terry Hastings and Colin Krainin August 19, 2020

British statistician, George Box, famously stated that “all models are wrong, but some are useful.” The nation’s experience with COVID-19 has highlighted this fact as policy makers have struggled to calibrate their actions based on imperfect data and modeling. Yet, modeling is useful and will continue to be an important

Disaster Case Management: An Important Disaster Response Tool

Senay Ozbay August 5, 2020

Effective disaster response and recovery involves identifying and establishing an organization that serves the needs of vulnerable populations utilizing pre-disaster risk assessments and crisis management communication, with planned and tested tools and robust resources. Disaster Case Management is one such tool.

Staying Prepared in a Changing World

Catherine L. Feinman July 29, 2020

Many professions are steeped in tradition, including those in emergency preparedness and response organizations. In these well-established environments, when asked to make a change to traditional practices, the response is sometimes simply, “No, this is how we’ve always done it.” Such thinking can leave communities underprepared for new, emerging, or

EMS Continuity of Operations Plan: A Critical Lifeline Component

Ron Cain July 8, 2020

“A lifeline enables the continuous operation of critical government and business functions and is essential to human health and safety or economic security.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed the Community Lifelines construct after the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons. The framework of Community Lifelines allows the whole community

Acceptable Loss in a Pandemic-Editor’s Note

Martin D. Masiuk June 4, 2020

Dear DomPrep Readers,Since day one on 11 November 1998, DomPrep has been and continues to be a publication for preparedness and resilience professionals with operational and strategic responsibilities. Since then, we have published many beneficial articles on pandemics, terrorism, natural disasters, chemical weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), active shooter(s), opioids,

National Pandemic Planning – The Forgotten Scenarios

Rick C. Mathews June 3, 2020

“Are we prepared?” is a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. There are generally two times this question arises: (1) when funding is being requested, and (2) after an incident occurs where the preparedness comes under review. Both timings are appropriate, but arguably not the best time to raise the

Management of the Strategic National Stockpile, A Path Forward

Carl Brewer May 20, 2020

Because of COVID-19, it is time to reevaluate preparedness and reconsider threats to the homeland. Good intentions and grand theories do not make good programs. Programs work best when they’re based on a detailed understanding of the problem begin solved and how they are implemented on the ground with solid

The Wicked Problem of Lifting Social Distancing & Isolation

Galen Adams and Jeremy L. Kim May 13, 2020

The issue of when or how to lift social distancing and isolation is a wicked problem. A “Wicked Problem” in policymaking defeats standard solutions because of the interaction between the wicked problem and its potential solutions. The application of the correct solution to one aspect of the wicked problem often

The Acceptable Loss – The Trolley Dilemma of Managing COVID-19 Pandemic

Isaac Ashkenazi and Carmit Rapaport May 13, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic takes its toll in terms of human lives and global economic consequences. Social distancing has proven to be the most promising strategy against emerging viruses without borders, but the heavy economic damage that follows puts in question the possibility of its continuation. In fact, weighing the two

Avoiding the Three As: Apathy, Atrophy & Attrition

Christopher Tantlinger May 6, 2020

Emergency management is everything to everybody, but it often lacks the glue that is so desperately needed to manage catastrophic events. This is likely the result of two common pitfalls that the profession has long suffered from, pitfalls that can begin as soon as one walks out of the meeting

Call to Action for “Unprecedented” Events

Catherine L. Feinman April 29, 2020

News agencies often use the term “unprecedented” when referring to COVID-19 and other recent disasters and events. Unprecedented refers to something that was not known or experienced before. However, it is often used synonymously with the word “unexpected.” Of course, COVID-19 did not exist before 2019, Hurricane Sandy did not

Triggered Collapse, Part 6: A Nationwide Call to Action

Drew Miller April 22, 2020

Similar to pandemic preparedness, the U.S. government is not doing enough to prepare for failure of municipal water systems when the electric grid goes down. Government programs do not address loss of law and order or cessation of food production and delivery services. Elected and appointed officials often downplay the

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