HOSPITALS ARCHIVES
CONTOMS: The Attributes of Excellence
Joseph Steger
March 7, 2007
In both the war on drugs and the current war on terrorism, CONTOMS (Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Medical Support) has been the leading training program for federal, state, and local Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) programs. Created in 1989, CONTOMS has evolved its training curriculum to meet ever-changing terrorist threats.
Needed: A Comprehensive Medical Intelligence Picture
Asha M. George
February 28, 2007
Defeating the threat posed by biological weapons requires a mountain of relevant information, collated and translated into actionable data, and distributed to a broad spectrum of potential users.
Kevin Yeskey, M.D., Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Preparedness and Emergency Operations, HHS
Kevin Yeskey
February 21, 2007
His comments on, among other topics, NIMS compliance efforts, state drug and vaccine distribution programs, state and local response capabilities, and the role of IRCT team leaders.
Pandemic Preparedness: The Driver for Most Suppliers
John F. Morton
January 31, 2007
Question: Is the United States prepared to deal with a biological-warfare attack? Answer: Not yet – but the nation’s private-sector biotech labs are working closely with state, local, and federal governments to detect, prevent, and/or deal with an attack.
Wicked Problems, Virtuous Solutions: How to Design a Risk-Based Medical Facility
Michael Allswede
January 24, 2007
The setting of national standards for the personal protective equipment worn and training received by first responders working in a hazardous-materials environment is a positive step forward.
Rear Admiral W. Craig Vanderwagen, M.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response andChief Preparedness Officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
W. Craig Vanderwagen
January 24, 2007
His views on, among other topics, his department’s disaster-response missions, capabilities, and accomplishment; the PHS’s team-orientation approach; IRCTs and the HHS “deployable force”; resiliency & prepositioning; and tsunamis & other natural disasters
The EMS Community Looks to the Future
Joseph Cahill
January 10, 2007
The era of “us versus them” is over. In times of disasters affecting the entire local population, all private-sector as well as public agencies must pool their resources in a common effort.
Admiral John O. Agwunobi, MD, MBA, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Domestic Preparedness
January 10, 2007
Pandemic preparedness activities, the department’s Katrina/Rita response efforts, the need for an “all-hazards” planning and operational mindset, and the planning assistance now available to local health planners are among the numerous topics covered.
The Whys and Wherefores of NIMS-Compliant Training
Stephen Grainer
January 3, 2007
The National Incident Management System training guidelines provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve and expand first-responder and emergency-responder capabilities – but some confusion continues about exactly what is required.
Pandemic Flu Vaccine – Still No Silver Bullet
Jerry Mothershead
December 20, 2006
Several years have passed since the first H5N1 outbreak and there have been speeches, studies, and statistics galore – but few if any nations are even half-prepared to deal with the consequences of a major pandemic.
Decontamination Considerations in Dealing With A Chemical Agent Mass-Casualty Incident
Theodore Jarboe
December 13, 2006
Decontamination operations are a business-as-usual task for most hazmat teams and other first responders. But not when there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of victims and the responders themselves are in danger of being contaminated.
Imperatives for the Training of Medical Staff
Michael Allswede
December 13, 2006
The U.S. private-sector health care system is probably the best in the world. But it is not prepared to deal with mass-casualty incidents, lacks the funding needed to expand beyond current capacity, and suffers from certain shortages.
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