Most recently published
All Hazards Evacuations: All Means Every Disaster & Everyone
Kay C. Goss
June 23, 2010
No one – whether they be political decision makers, first responders, or individual citizens – will ever be satisfied with less than perfect safety. But major advances have been made in detection, deterrence, and response. One of the most important but relatively unpublicized advances is in the field of crowd
Lessons Learned From an ‘Almost’ Evacuation
Jennifer Smither
June 23, 2010
In December 2014, an unknown patient zero visited Disneyland in California. Whether that person knew that he or she was carrying a highly contagious infectious disease is not as important as the speed in which the disease spread and the reason behind it. There is a correlation between the resurgence
When Time Stops: Family Support After a Mass-Casualty Incident
Joseph Cahill
June 16, 2010
The rapid growth of mass-casualty incidents in recent years has led to much-needed new rules – now formulated at the federal level – to not only notify victims’ families and friends, and usually the media as well. Implementing those rules requires organizational skills, advance planning, compassion, and an uncommon measure
NIMS/ICS Case Study: Evacuation & State-Managed Shelters
Stephen Grainer and Patricia Snead
June 16, 2010
If a hotel has been overbooked most people go to another hotel just a block or two away. That solution does not work when a mass-casualty incident requires the evacuation of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of citizens. Immediately. Which is why local evacuation plans must anticipate the need for additional sheltering
DomPrep Survey: The Use of Social Media in Disaster Response
Domestic Preparedness
June 16, 2010
This survey focuses attention on use of the “social media” (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) in disaster-response situations. Several of the DP40 views are surprising; others – involving liability issues, for example – are mandates for quick and effective action. DPJ readers are hereby respectfully requested to Take the Survey Now!!
The Times Square Bombing Plot: What It Means For America
Neil C. Livingstone
June 9, 2010
Experts in aviation safety have long recognized that what is described as a “near miss” is actually a “near hit.” The Times Square bombing attempt deserves the same unflinching judgment: Disaster was avoided not because of the superior competence of DHS and TSA, but because of the greater incompetence of
Exercise Boosts Communication Capabilities of Emergency Responders
Domestic Preparedness
June 4, 2010
Nearly 20 federal and regional agencies took part in an exercise on 20 May at Joint Force Headquarters in Madison (WI) to learn, among other things, if they could communicate with one another in the event of a real emergency.
COOP Planning Becomes Major Concern for Healthcare Facilities
Raphael M. Barishansky
June 2, 2010
The best-laid plans of mice and men – not to mention emergency managers and healthcare officials – can oft go awry. That is particularly true, almost guaranteed in fact, when the plans are only on paper, the emergency assets needed have not been secured, and the numerous other actions needed
Meeting the Challenge: Public Health Emergencies & the Special Needs Populations
Bruce Clements
May 26, 2010
Dealing with earthquakes, hurricanes, and/or terrorist attacks is difficult enough for first responders as well as emergency managers. Add to that, though, the need to protect, provide medical care for, and/or possibly transport people suffering from various medical problems makes the challenge exponentially more difficult. Once again, advance planning and
Preparing for Unexpected Hospital Surges
Jennifer Smither
May 26, 2010
Some of the best “solutions” create other problems, as Canada found out during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Once again, the best way to avoid such secondary problems is through advance planning, plus training and exercises, with all stakeholders involved every step of the way.
Hospital Surge Capacity – A Moving Target
Theodore Tully
May 26, 2010
The emergency rooms of most U.S. hospitals are often overcrowded even on a supposedly “slow” day. A mass-casualty incident makes the situation exponentially worse, creating a simultaneous demand for additional space, a larger staff, and more medical supplies. The last resort is usually the use of an alternate-care site –
Leadership and Stewardship in Microeconomic Decision-Making
Dennis R. Schrader
May 19, 2010
Protection of the nation’s “critical infrastructure” has long been one of the highest priorities of senior officials at all levels of government. After 9/11, response and recovery started to receive equal billing. Now comes belated recognition that “resilience” also is needed – and should be built into construction projects at
Coping with Chaos: The Aftermath of a CBRNE Incident
Richard Schoeberl
June 23, 2010
U.S. emergency managers and worst-case planners have been warning for many years that the possibility of a WMD attack against American cities is a “when, not if” scenario. The nation’s ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from such an attack is much improved. But there are still serious deficiencies,
All Hazards Evacuations: All Means Every Disaster & Everyone
Kay C. Goss
June 23, 2010
No one – whether they be political decision makers, first responders, or individual citizens – will ever be satisfied with less than perfect safety. But major advances have been made in detection, deterrence, and response. One of the most important but relatively unpublicized advances is in the field of crowd
Lessons Learned From an ‘Almost’ Evacuation
Jennifer Smither
June 23, 2010
In December 2014, an unknown patient zero visited Disneyland in California. Whether that person knew that he or she was carrying a highly contagious infectious disease is not as important as the speed in which the disease spread and the reason behind it. There is a correlation between the resurgence
When Time Stops: Family Support After a Mass-Casualty Incident
Joseph Cahill
June 16, 2010
The rapid growth of mass-casualty incidents in recent years has led to much-needed new rules – now formulated at the federal level – to not only notify victims’ families and friends, and usually the media as well. Implementing those rules requires organizational skills, advance planning, compassion, and an uncommon measure
NIMS/ICS Case Study: Evacuation & State-Managed Shelters
Stephen Grainer and Patricia Snead
June 16, 2010
If a hotel has been overbooked most people go to another hotel just a block or two away. That solution does not work when a mass-casualty incident requires the evacuation of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of citizens. Immediately. Which is why local evacuation plans must anticipate the need for additional sheltering
DomPrep Survey: The Use of Social Media in Disaster Response
Domestic Preparedness
June 16, 2010
This survey focuses attention on use of the “social media” (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) in disaster-response situations. Several of the DP40 views are surprising; others – involving liability issues, for example – are mandates for quick and effective action. DPJ readers are hereby respectfully requested to Take the Survey Now!!
The Times Square Bombing Plot: What It Means For America
Neil C. Livingstone
June 9, 2010
Experts in aviation safety have long recognized that what is described as a “near miss” is actually a “near hit.” The Times Square bombing attempt deserves the same unflinching judgment: Disaster was avoided not because of the superior competence of DHS and TSA, but because of the greater incompetence of
Exercise Boosts Communication Capabilities of Emergency Responders
Domestic Preparedness
June 4, 2010
Nearly 20 federal and regional agencies took part in an exercise on 20 May at Joint Force Headquarters in Madison (WI) to learn, among other things, if they could communicate with one another in the event of a real emergency.
COOP Planning Becomes Major Concern for Healthcare Facilities
Raphael M. Barishansky
June 2, 2010
The best-laid plans of mice and men – not to mention emergency managers and healthcare officials – can oft go awry. That is particularly true, almost guaranteed in fact, when the plans are only on paper, the emergency assets needed have not been secured, and the numerous other actions needed
Meeting the Challenge: Public Health Emergencies & the Special Needs Populations
Bruce Clements
May 26, 2010
Dealing with earthquakes, hurricanes, and/or terrorist attacks is difficult enough for first responders as well as emergency managers. Add to that, though, the need to protect, provide medical care for, and/or possibly transport people suffering from various medical problems makes the challenge exponentially more difficult. Once again, advance planning and
Preparing for Unexpected Hospital Surges
Jennifer Smither
May 26, 2010
Some of the best “solutions” create other problems, as Canada found out during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Once again, the best way to avoid such secondary problems is through advance planning, plus training and exercises, with all stakeholders involved every step of the way.
Hospital Surge Capacity – A Moving Target
Theodore Tully
May 26, 2010
The emergency rooms of most U.S. hospitals are often overcrowded even on a supposedly “slow” day. A mass-casualty incident makes the situation exponentially worse, creating a simultaneous demand for additional space, a larger staff, and more medical supplies. The last resort is usually the use of an alternate-care site –
DHR, MEMA, the LEMs & Maryland’s WST Example
Pamela Spring and Rainier C. Harvey, Sr.
May 12, 2010
The 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama was a truly historic event in many ways – and for many reasons, not least of which is that it provided a “golden standard” opportunity for the State of Maryland and its National Capital Region partners to use, validate, and learn from a
Your Thoughts Compared with DomPrep40’s National Experts on…Mass-Casualty Preparedness &Response
W. Craig Vanderwagen and John F. Morton
May 12, 2010
Are U.S. hospitals currently prepared to deal with the aftermath of a nuclear explosion – or any other mass-casualty incident? Not yet, according to the DP40 panel of experts. Reader opinions are hereby requested.
Hospital Expansion Through Alternate Care Sites
Joseph Cahill
May 5, 2010
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
A Mall Setting in Georgia for H1N1 Vaccinations
Elizabeth Hausauer and Connie Russell
April 28, 2010
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.
Law Enforcement Pandemic Resilience: Time to Recalibrate
Joseph W. Trindal
April 28, 2010
The global-disaster scenario originally forecast fell far short of the dire predictions. Which is a good reason to celebrate. But not a reason to stop planning and preparing for “what might have been.” Hurricane Katrina taught many lessons worth learning, the most important of which is that states, communities, and
Using Regulations to Neutralize Red Tape
Joseph Cahill
April 21, 2010
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
Pandemic Preparedness: Advance Planning Is Mandatory
Jennifer Smither
April 21, 2010
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
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
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