Mass casualty event during a musical parade: lessons learned

Author(s):  
Michael Bemelman ◽  
Luke Leenen
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-65
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Morris ◽  
◽  
Joshua Jauregui ◽  
Andrew M. McCoy ◽  
Steven H. Mitchell ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e000210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M Russo ◽  
Joseph M Galante ◽  
John B Holcomb ◽  
Warren Dorlac ◽  
Jason Brocker ◽  
...  

Care during mass casualty events (MCE) has improved during the last 15 years. Military and civilian collaboration has led to partnerships which augment the response to MCE. Much has been written about strategies to deliver care during an MCE, but there is little about how to transition back to normal operations after an event. A panel discussion entitled The Day(s) After: Lessons Learned from Trauma Team Management in the Aftermath of an Unexpected Mass Casualty Event at the 76th Annual American Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting on September 13, 2017 brought together a cadre of military and civilian surgeons with experience in MCEs. The events described were the First Battle of Mogadishu (1993), the Second Battle of Fallujah (2004), the Bagram Detention Center Rocket Attack (2014), the Boston Marathon Bombing (2013), the Asiana Flight 214 Plane Crash (2013), the Baltimore Riots (2015), and the Orlando Pulse Night Club Shooting (2016). This article focuses on the lessons learned from military and civilian surgeons in the days after MCEs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Jun Zhang ◽  
Tian-Bing Wang ◽  
Da Fan ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Bao-Guo Jiang

AbstractBackgroundOn August 12, 2015, a hazardous chemical explosion occurred in the Tianjin Port of China. The explosions resulted in 165 deaths, 8 missing people, injuries to thousands of people. We present the responses of emergency medical services and hospitals to the explosions and summarize the lessons that can be learned.MethodsThis study was a retrospective analysis of the responses of emergency medical services and hospitals to the Tianjin explosions. Data on injuries, outcomes, and patient flow were obtained from the government and the hospitals.ResultsA total of 46 ambulances and 143 prehospital care professionals were dispatched to the scene, and 198 wounded were transferred to hospitals by ambulance. More than 4000 wounded casualties surged into hospitals, and 798 wounded were admitted. Both emergency medical services and hospitals were quick and successful in the early stage of the explosions. The strategy of 4 centralizations (4Cs) for medical services management in a mass casualty event was successfully applied.ConclusionsThe risk of accidental events has increased in recent years. We should take advantage of the lessons learned from the explosions and apply these in future disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018; 12: 411–414)


2020 ◽  
pp. 276-300
Author(s):  
Dan M. Grinstead

This chapter includes a description of the author’s training and experience in the Iowa Army National Guard that prepared him for his deployment to Afghanistan. The author explains: How, at age 57, he decided to join the Iowa Army National Guard, with the goal of doing something about the huge problem: increasing numbers of military service related suicides. He discusses his experience of going through the Officer’s Basic Leadership Course to celebrating his 60th birthday but shortly afterwards he was sent to Afghanistan. He describes his year there as providing combat social work services in a setting where at any time, you could be subject to a rocket or motor attack. Among the challenges leading to lessons learned was establishing trust among his clients. All were reluctant to talk with a “shrink.” An especially moving section of his chapter was about conducting a critical incident debriefing after a mass casualty event.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Monteiro Tavares Pereira, MD, MSc ◽  
Wellington Morales, MD ◽  
Ricardo Galesso Cardoso, MD ◽  
Rossano Fiorelli, MD, PhD ◽  
Gustavo Pereira Fraga, MD, PhD ◽  
...  

Introduction: On January, 2011, a devastating tropical storm hit the mountain area of Rio de Janeiro State in Brazil, resulting in flooding and mudslides and leaving 30,000 individuals displaced.Objective: This article explores key lessons learned from this major mass casualty event, highlighting prehospital and hospital organization for receiving multiple victims in a short period of time, which may be applicable in similar future events worldwide.Methods: A retrospective review of local hospital medical/fire department records and data from the Health and Security Department of the State were analyzed. Medical examiner archives were analyzed to determine the causes of death.Results: The most common injuries were to the extremities, the majority requiring only wound cleaning, debridement, and suture. Orthopedic surgeries were the most common operative procedures. In the first 3 days, 191 victims underwent triage at the hospital with 50 requiring admission to the hospital. Two hundred fifty patients were triaged at the hospital by the end of the fifth day.The mortis cause for the majority of deaths was asphyxia, either by drowning or mud burial.Conclusion: Natural disasters are able to generate a large number of victims and overwhelm the main channels of relief available. Main lessons learned are as follows: 1) prevention and training are key points, 2) key measures by the authorities should be taken as early as possible, and 3) the centralization of the deceased in one location demonstrated greater effectiveness identifying victims and releasing the bodies back to families.


Author(s):  
Terri Rebmann ◽  
Rachel L. Charney ◽  
Rebecca L. Eschmann ◽  
M. Colleen Fitzpatrick

Abstract Objective: To assess non-pediatric nurses’ willingness to provide care to pediatric patients during a mass casualty event (MCE). Methods: Nurses from 4 non-pediatric hospitals in a major metropolitan Midwestern region were surveyed in the fall of 2018. Participants were asked about their willingness to provide MCE pediatric care. Hierarchical logistical regression was used to describe factors associated with nurses’ willingness to provide MCE pediatric care. Results: In total, 313 nurses were approached and 289 completed a survey (response rate = 92%). A quarter (25.3%, n = 73) would be willing to provide MCE care to a child of any age; 12% (n = 35) would provide care only to newborns in the labor and delivery area, and 16.6% (n = 48) would only provide care to adults. Predictors of willingness to provide care to a patient of any age during an MCE included providing care to the youngest-age children during routine duties, reporting confidence in calculating doses and administering pediatric medications, working in the emergency department, being currently or previously certified in PALS, and having access to pediatric-sized equipment in the unit or hospital. Conclusion: Pediatric surge capacity is lacking among nurses. Increasing nurses’ pediatric care self-efficacy could improve pediatric surge capacity and minimize morbidity and mortality during MCEs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 150-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa E. Chapman ◽  
Ernest E. Sullivent ◽  
Lisa A. Grohskopf ◽  
Elise M. Beltrami ◽  
Joseph F. Perz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPeople wounded during bombings or other events resulting in mass casualties or in conjunction with the resulting emergency response may be exposed to blood, body fluids, or tissue from other injured people and thus be at risk for bloodborne infections such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, or tetanus. This report adapts existing general recommendations on the use of immunization and postexposure prophylaxis for tetanus and for occupational and nonoccupational exposures to bloodborne pathogens to the specific situation of a mass casualty event. Decisions regarding the implementation of prophylaxis are complex, and drawing parallels from existing guidelines is difficult. For any prophylactic intervention to be implemented effectively, guidance must be simple, straightforward, and logistically undemanding. Critical review during development of this guidance was provided by representatives of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and representatives of the acute injury care, trauma, and emergency response medical communities participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Terrorism Injuries: Information, Dissemination and Exchange project. The recommendations contained in this report represent the consensus of US federal public health officials and reflect the experience and input of public health officials at all levels of government and the acute injury response community. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2008;2:150–165)


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