Establishing a Foundation for Performance Measurement for Local Public Health Preparedness The development of performance measures is not a new concept in the disaster preparedness space. For over a decade, goals have been developed and tied to federal preparedness grant programs. However, these measures have been heavily criticized for their inability to truly measure preparedness. There is also growing frustration at the local level that these … Continue reading “Establishing a Foundation for Performance Measurement for Local Public Health Preparedness” Learn More
Hurricane Sandy: Lessons Learned, Again Hurricane Sandy was a sobering reminder to those of us who call New York home that it is a port city and subject to the whims of wind and water. The storm itself was massive: climatologically, a thousand miles wide at its peak; economically, an estimated excess of $50 billion in damages. In the New … Continue reading “Hurricane Sandy: Lessons Learned, Again” Learn More
Regional Variation in Critical Care Evacuation Needs for Children After a Mass Casualty Incident To determine the ability of five New York statewide regions to accommodate 30 children needing critical care after a hypothetical mass casualty incident (MCI) and the duration to complete an evacuation to facilities in other regions if the surge exceeded local capacity. A quantitative model evaluated pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) vacancies for MCI patients, … Continue reading “Regional Variation in Critical Care Evacuation Needs for Children After a Mass Casualty Incident” Learn More
The 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado: Integration of Pediatric Disaster Services into Regional Systems of Care Objective: To empirically describe the integration of pediatric disaster services into regional systems of care after the April 27, 2011, tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a community with no pediatric emergency department or pediatric intensive care unit and few pediatric subspecialists. Study design: Data were obtained in interviews with key informants including professional staff and managers … Continue reading “The 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado: Integration of Pediatric Disaster Services into Regional Systems of Care” Learn More
Emergency Response and Public Health in Hurricane Katrina: What Does it Mean to Be a Public Health Emergency Responder? Since 9/11, federal funds directed toward public health departments for training in disaster preparedness have dramatically increased, resulting in changing expectations of public health workers’ roles in emergency response. This article explores the public health emergency responder role through data collected as part of an oral history conducted with the 3 health departments that responded … Continue reading “Emergency Response and Public Health in Hurricane Katrina: What Does it Mean to Be a Public Health Emergency Responder?” Learn More
The Incorporation of GIS Technologies in Emergency Preparedness and Response Public health agencies make decisions that have far reaching consequences, and geography impacts these decisions on a daily basis. Geographic information systems (GIS) are powerful computer software programs which can enable agency staff to visualize spatial information in new ways, so that they can become better planners and problem solvers, particularly in the areas of … Continue reading “The Incorporation of GIS Technologies in Emergency Preparedness and Response” Learn More
Of peppers and preparedness What can a chili pepper teach us about disaster preparedness? In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began issuing advisories about a foodborne salmonella outbreak that was detected in the United States. At the end of August, the agencies announced with little fanfare that the … Continue reading “Of peppers and preparedness” Learn More
Lessons from Katrina – What Went Wrong, What Was Learned, Who’s Most Vulnerable If humans did not occupy the planet, disasters would never occur. Massive climatic events, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis would be regular occurrences, of course, and the earth would look like a dynamic cauldron of natural activity, changing the look and the balance of nature and natural events continuously and randomly. What morphs these natural … Continue reading “Lessons from Katrina – What Went Wrong, What Was Learned, Who’s Most Vulnerable” Learn More
Interventions to Mitigate the Reduced Ability and Willingness to Work of Health Care Workers During a Pandemic Influenza Public Health Emergency Several widely publicized articles were released in the past two years which suggest that health care and public health employees may be unable or unwilling to report to work during a public health emergency involving contagion or contamination such as pandemic influenza, SARS, smallpox, or a terrorist attack using disease or radiation: A 2006 study … Continue reading “Interventions to Mitigate the Reduced Ability and Willingness to Work of Health Care Workers During a Pandemic Influenza Public Health Emergency” Learn More
Children and Megadisasters: Lessons Learned in the New Millennium Hurricane Katrina is America’s most recent encounter with a megadisaster. But what made it a megadisaster instead of just another category 3 hurricane of the type that seasonally exists in the Gulf of Mexico? Katrina was not the largest or strongest hurricane to strike the United States mainland in the recent past, but its effects … Continue reading “Children and Megadisasters: Lessons Learned in the New Millennium” Learn More
Comfort level of emergency medical service providers in responding to weapons of mass destruction events: impact of training and equipment Background: Numerous studies have suggested that emergency medical services (EMS) providers are ill-prepared in the areas of training and equipment for response to events due to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other public health emergencies (epidemics, etc.). Methods: A nationally representative sample of basic and paramedic EMS providers in the United States was surveyed … Continue reading “Comfort level of emergency medical service providers in responding to weapons of mass destruction events: impact of training and equipment” Learn More
Comparison of Urban Transit Planning Responses to Pandemic Influenza Pandemic influenza and other large scale communicable disease outbreaks pose a unique public safety concern in respect to transit and emergency planning. While local transit agencies, supported by federal funds, have identified disaster planning and response as critical to maintaining continuity of service and quality of life, most plans contend solely with event-based scenarios such … Continue reading “Comparison of Urban Transit Planning Responses to Pandemic Influenza” Learn More
A Critical Concern: Pediatrician Self-care After Disasters As of this writing, health care in the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina has shifted from emergency to primary care mode. Disasters take a heavy toll not only on victims but also on professionals and volunteers who experience the immediate, short-term, and long- term impact through their patients. The impact may occur because of the … Continue reading “A Critical Concern: Pediatrician Self-care After Disasters” Learn More
Unanticipated Consequences of Pandemic Flu: Transportation Related Issues: A Preliminary Literature Review Broadly speaking, plans for the containment and treatment of pandemic flu lead to a set of circumscribed outcomes, which include process outcomes (e.g., numbers of individuals vaccinated, numbers of health care workers vaccinated, numbers of intensive care beds opened up) as well as health outcomes (e.g., flu-related morbidity and mortality, transmission rates, and attack rates). … Continue reading “Unanticipated Consequences of Pandemic Flu: Transportation Related Issues: A Preliminary Literature Review” Learn More
Responding to an Emerging Humanitarian Crisis in Louisiana and Mississippi: Urgent Need for Health Care "Marshall Plan" It is now clear that massive challenges are facing the recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the flooding of New Orleans. Evacuees from the hardest hit communities who are currently in extended shelter status, particularly those with limited economic means, may already formally fall under … Continue reading “Responding to an Emerging Humanitarian Crisis in Louisiana and Mississippi: Urgent Need for Health Care “Marshall Plan”” Learn More
Chronicles From Out-of-State Professionals: Providing Primary Care to Underserved Children After a Disaster: A National Organization Response Hundreds of thousands of lives in the Gulf Coast region were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Children’s Health Fund (CHF) responded rapidly to the needs of children and their families after the hurricane. CHF is a national organization that supports direct health services, education, and advocacy for medically underserved children. Although CHF’s principle mission is … Continue reading “Chronicles From Out-of-State Professionals: Providing Primary Care to Underserved Children After a Disaster: A National Organization Response” Learn More
Accuracy of a Priority Medical Dispatch System in Dispatching Cardiac Emergencies in a Suburban Community Introduction: Over-triage of patients by emergency medical services (EMS) dispatch is thought to be an acceptable alternative to under-triage, which may delay how quickly life-saving care reaches a patient. Previous studies have looked at advanced life support (ALS) misutilization in urban- and county-based EMS systems and have attempted to analyze how dispatch methods either contribute … Continue reading “Accuracy of a Priority Medical Dispatch System in Dispatching Cardiac Emergencies in a Suburban Community” Learn More
Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children's Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina Disasters, whether resulting from terrorism or natural events, have a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of children. Studies after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and countless reports on the impact of natural disasters on children show that a child’s mental health … Continue reading “Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children’s Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina” Learn More
Uncommon Sense, Uncommon Courage: How the New York City School System, Its Teachers, Leadership and Students Responded to the Terror of September 11 Eight public schools are situated within a quarter mile of Ground Zero with 9,000 students ranging in ages from three to eighteen years – grammar, middle and high schools. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in the midst of chaos and a relentless unfolding of tragedy, professionals of the Board of Education safely evacuated all 9,000 … Continue reading “Uncommon Sense, Uncommon Courage: How the New York City School System, Its Teachers, Leadership and Students Responded to the Terror of September 11” Learn More
Complex humanitarian emergencies: Security issues with international public health response The suicide car bombing of the Baghdad headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (JCRC) in October 2003 underscored the vulnerability of humanitarian and relief organizations that operate in areas of violent conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, complex humanitarian emergencies have become an increasing priority for NGOs and global health … Continue reading “Complex humanitarian emergencies: Security issues with international public health response” Learn More
