PUBLIC HEALTH ARCHIVES
Lessons Learned: Mass Casualties and Communication Gaps
Sophia Paros
December 8, 2010
Emergency communications is key to incident management – and critical, both during and following, mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). On 7 July 2005, four suicide bombers detonated bombs between 8:50 a.m. and 9:47 a.m. on three underground commuter trains and a street bus in central London. Those bombings broke down the below-ground
Bringing Greater Life-Saving Capabilities to the Incident Scene
Brad Stobb
December 1, 2010
Coming soon: New and highly capable CERFPs and better- trained and -equipped WMD CSTs. The acronyms are daunting and impossible to pronounce, but they represent another quantum leap in U.S. homeland-preparedness capabilities, with special significance at the state, local, and community levels of government.
The Hospital ICS: Mainstream Solution, or Barely Used?
Craig DeAtley
November 24, 2010
Most but not all HICS policy guidelines have been deemed by the nation’s health-care community to be both reasonable and acceptable. And most but, again, not all are being incorporated into local emergency-response policies and guidelines as well. So the system is not yet perfect. It is headed in the
The Limits of Detection: A New Horizon Beckons
Chris Weber
November 24, 2010
To enter, or not to enter? That is the first and most important question facing first responders arriving at the scene of a major incident where there is reason to believe the area may be contaminated by biological agents. Lives are at stake, though, so quick decisions are mandatory, and
Hospital Emergency Departments – Infectious Diseases: The First Line of Defense
Theodore Tully
November 24, 2010
Very few Emergency Departments in U.S. hospitals can cope with a major outbreak of infectious diseases. But there is much that could & should be done before an outbreak occurs. Improved communications between and among all major medical facilities in the same geographic area should be the first priority, along
Biodetection: Today, Tomorrow & Years Later
Glen Rudner
November 17, 2010
Most U.S. counterterrorism experts and senior DHS and DOD officials agree that the greatest danger now facing the nation is not a nuclear attack but a biological warfare agent – which would be extremely difficult to detect, much less counter. There has been some limited progress in U.S. detection capabilities,
DomPrep Executive Briefing on PS-Prep
Martin D. Masiuk
November 17, 2010
The well attended 15 November DomPrep Executive Briefing on the Department of Homeland Security’s new “Private-Sector Preparedness” program not only provided a wealth of information for those participating but also raised several exceptionally relevant questions – on a broad range of closely related topics. The one virtually unanimous conclusion (no
‘Pathogens for Knuckleheads’: The Enemy Within – Invisible & Infectious
Christina M. Flowers
November 10, 2010
A possible nuclear attack against the U.S. homeland gets more attention, but homeland-security experts say an attack involving biological weapons could be much more devastating in its consequences. The warhead of such weapons would be pathogens – which, as this primer “for Knuckleheads” points out, are low in cost, easy
Bio-Preparedness: From the Top Down
Jennifer Smither
November 3, 2010
A smart leader recruits the most capable assistants he/she can find – and uses them wisely. But some topics in today’s dangerous world are of such transcendent importance – bio-preparedness, for example – that decisions cannot be relegated to subordinates. And neither can the drills, training sessions, and tabletop exercises
Reducing the H1N1 Risk: Public-Private Social Media Partnerships
Timothy Tinker and Marko Bourne
October 27, 2010
In business, in politics, and in sports, one of the oldest human truths is that, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” That seemingly eternal verity is being tested again, very effectively, by CDC and the nation’s healthcare communities are using widgets, tweets, and Whyville to persuade the public at
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
Follow Us
Get Instant Access
Subscribe today to Domestic Preparedness and get real-world insights for safer communities.
