A Mass Casualty Care Strategy for Biological Terrorism Incidents
Abstract
This publication provides basic information on the mass casualty care concept known as the Acute Care Center (ACC). The ACC is one component of a disaster medical system developed by the Domestic Preparedness Biological Weapons Improved Response Program (BW IRP). The system is intended to assist emergency planners and health care providers in planning and coordinating an effective medical response to a large-scale terrorism attack involving the use of a noncontagious biological weapon in a civilian community. The information contained in this publication can be tailored for individual community application. In recent years, concern over the likelihood of a terrorist attack involving unconventional threats has increased. In 1998, under the auspices of the Department of Defense (DoD) Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP), the BW IRP conducted a series of workshops aimed at identifying improved approaches to managing the consequences of a large-scale biological terrorism attack. One product of this effort was a multi-echelon interagency template for executing a fully integrated disaster response. The cornerstone of this strategy is the efficient use of a community's combined medical resources. The Modular Emergency Medical System (MEMS) represents the BW IRP's initial attempt to systematically address the need for rapidly enhancing a community's medical capacity. One component of this disaster care system is the ACC. This report describes the MEMS strategy and provides the following information about the ACC: purpose; level of care philosophy; standing admission orders; patient flow; facility and staffing requirements; and operational considerations, such as training, patient records and tracking, medical equipment and supplies, drugs, environmental health and sanitation, personnel protection, staff support, food services, and hospice care. Appendixes provide a sample admission order, a sample job action sheet, and a list of pharmaceuticals and their purposes. (13 re7
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA421505
Entities
People
- James Church