EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ARCHIVES
H1N1: Learning from a Less-Than-Worst-Case Scenario
Craig DeAtley
April 14, 2010
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.
Pandemics Are In The Air
Diana Hopkins
April 7, 2010
Lightning strikes are sudden and spectacular, highly visible, and extremely violent. Not to mention lethal. Bacteria and viruses are just the opposite – totally invisible, in fact. But they kill many more people, in every country in the world, year after year than lightning does. It may be helpful to
Using NHSS ‘To Minimize the Risks’
Raphael M. Barishansky
April 7, 2010
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
H1N1: A Lesson for Healthcare Preparedness
Theodore Tully
April 4, 2010
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
The Security Checkpoints of Tomorrow
Peter Kant
March 31, 2010
The sometimes intrusive high-tech systems used by most airlines to screen passengers, and their baggage, are extremely sophisticated – but terrorist organizations also are moving forward by devising new types of explosive devices, and new methods of concealment. The end result, in the not-too-distant future, is likely to be a
A U.S. Responder’s View of Israeli Security & Preparedness
Glen Rudner
March 31, 2010
This first-person report by a homeland-security professional compares the U.S. civil-aviation security system with its Israeli counterpart and declares Israel a clear winner – for two reasons: (1) The virtually unanimous Israeli mindset is focused primarily on national survival; and (2) Israeli security sidesteps politics by profiling all passengers through
‘By Far the Greatest Threat to U.S. Civil Aviation’
Neil C. Livingstone
March 24, 2010
Umar Farouk Abdulmutullab was walking, almost literally, in the footsteps of Richard Reid when he tried to detonate an “underwear” bomb aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009. Additional jihadist attacks are inevitable – unless and until the United States changes its supposedly egalitarian screening process in favor
Surgically Implanted Death: Human IEDs vs. Full-Body Scanning
Joseph W. Trindal
March 24, 2010
Terrorist patterns of adaptation continue to present challenges for the emergency services community worldwide. In the 1980s the number of terrorist suicide/homicide bombings was rapidly increasing and spreading. Terrorist tactics almost exclusively involved person-borne and vehicle-borne delivery of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Some terrorist groups led the way toward adaptation,
Department of Defense Focuses on IT Innovation
Thomas Payne
March 24, 2010
The same revolution in information technology that has given the U.S. armed services communications, cybersecurity, research, and other advanced capabilities previously deemed impossible can be used by other government agencies, and by the civilian sector, to improve and perfect their own products and services on a continuing basis.
The Need for Situational Awareness in a CBRNE Attack
Jordan Nelms
March 24, 2010
The handling of mass-casualty incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and/or explosive materials requires special training and purpose-built systems and equipment, but the greatest need on-site is continuing awareness by emergency responders of the horrendous threat they, and the innocent victims they are helping, are facing.
The Short- & Long-Term Changes Needed at DHS, TSA
Neil C. Livingstone
March 23, 2010
Contrary to Secretary Napolitano’s rather politicized assertion that “the [U.S. aviation security] system worked,” it definitely did NOT work. But it could be made immensely more effective – less costly as well – if certain common-sense, albeit politically difficult, changes were made. Beginning immediately, and starting at the top.
Partners in Preparedness: Close to 2000 Attendees at Public Health Preparedness Summit
Jack Herrmann
March 17, 2010
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
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