With mass-casualty incidents becoming one of the 21st-century's consistent growth industries, it is only natural that the nation's health care facilities are busy preparing for a sudden and totally unexpected increase in patient workloads. Here are a few basic principles and precepts to keep in mind - just in case.
At a time in U.S. history when mass-casualty events are not only more frequent but also much better publicized, the numerous public and private-sector agencies involved are, correctly, focusing greater attention on their own preparedness to cope with such "when, not if" situations. Hospitals, for example, many of which are perennially overcrowded, are desperately looking for more space to handle double or triple their normal patient capacity.
Advance planning, a can-do spirit of cooperation, a focus on the small details, and excellent communications skills - all were essential ingredients in Georgia's eminently successful campaign to protect the citizens of that great state from the global flu pandemic.
Healthcare workers, first responders, and emergency managers in Louisiana and Missouri used the H1N1 global pandemic to demonstrate how an imminent disaster - combined with information sharing, the early promulgation of preparedness plans, and a modicum of managerial expertise - can provide valuable lessons learned to cope with future disasters more effectively and at lower cost to the taxpayers.
In times of urgent need, a "probably acceptable" solution is almost always better than one that is demonstrably not very effective and/or has failed in the past. That is the common-sense understanding reflected in the Emergency Use Authorization rule that permits the FDA to approve apparently effective - but not totally tested and validated - medications and medical devices when the nation is facing imminent disasters.
The best that can be said, usually, about worst-case scenarios, after the fact, is that they never actually happened. But the just-in-case preparations for the 2009-10 H1N1 "Swine Flu" global scare generated some residual training benefits, and even the mistakes made can, and should, be transmogrified into valuable lessons learned.
The numerous mistakes, misunderstandings, and miscalculations made in preparing for the potential loss of perhaps millions of lives during the 2009-10 global pandemic that never happened do not represent a total loss. Just the opposite, in fact - if (a very big if) political decision makers, emergency managers, and healthcare providers learn from those mistakes, correct the miscalculations, and clarify the misunderstandings.
There are 10 principal objectives in what has been described as "the first comprehensive policy document" focusing specifically on protecting the health of the American people in times of national emergency - e.g., a major mass-casualty incident such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or terrorist attack. Here is a quick look at four of those objectives of particular short-term importance to the domestic-preparedness community.
Those who were fortunate and farsighted enough to attend last month's Public Health Preparedness Summit in Atlanta not only heard many of the nation's senior healthcare officials report on recent innovations and achievements but also, of greater importance, were able to network with their peers and colleagues from every state in the union to discuss the even more daunting challenges likely to be faced in the very near future.
Within minutes after news of the 12 January earthquake that devastated Haiti was reported to the outside world, U.S. government agencies, and numerous NGOs, swung into action. Here is a lessons-learned report on how New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital accelerated its pre-planning process, the preparation of healthcare volunteers, the procurement of medical supplies and equipment, and the dispatch to Port au Prince of an all-volunteer medical relief team.
