Author Archive

Planning Needs for Staff Medication Dispensing

Three modes of operation, two of which might strain the trained EMS personnel resources immediately available but would not overwhelm them. Preparing for the third mode, a sudden mass-casualty scenario, must be done carefully and thoughtfully.

Hospital Response to a 10-Kiloton Nuclear Detonation

Article Out Loud For many years, federal, state, and local authorities throughout the United States have planned and trained for the notional possibility of a 10-kiloton improvised nuclear device being detonated within a major metropolitan area. If that were to occur, the hundreds of thousands of fatalities and life-threatening injuries

A Healthcare Coalition’s Support for Evacuating a Facility

  As recent experiences have shown – the hospital evacuations in Joplin, Missouri, and Loma Linda, California, are perhaps the best examples – the partial or complete evacuation of a healthcare facility is traumatic, complex, and extremely challenging not only for the facility itself but also for the entire local

Hospital Preparedness for ‘Chemical/Detergent’ Suicides

  The Hospital Accreditation Standards established by The Joint Commission, and followed by almost all of the nation’s healthcare facilities, mandate that U.S. hospitals should be prepared to decontaminate patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials. However, although thousands of incidents involving hazardous materials occur annually in the United

HICS National Summit: Building on the Past, Preparing for the Future

A distinguished DomPrep40 Advisor presents his exclusive insider’s report on a “Summit Meeting” held in California earlier this month during which the nation’s current Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) guidelines were discussed, debated, and dissected in minute detail. New policies that will develop as a result may well affect the

Corporate Support for a Healthcare Facility in Crisis

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are marvelous at handling emergencies, healing the sick, and performing a host of minor and major daily miracles. But who heals the healer? In other words, what happens when the hospital itself is suffering from an explosion, an out-of-control fire, or any other type of

45 Seconds of Danger, a Lifetime of Lessons

The EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, during the evening of 22 May 2011 was among the deadliest in U.S. history. More than 140 persons died, over 1,000 were injured, and thousands of others were left homeless. In addition, it has been estimated that the cost to “rebuild” Joplin could

The Hospital ICS: Mainstream Solution, or Barely Used?

Most but not all HICS policy guidelines have been deemed by the nation’s health-care community to be both reasonable and acceptable. And most but, again, not all are being incorporated into local emergency-response policies and guidelines as well. So the system is not yet perfect. It is headed in the

‘My Loved One Was in That Accident – Can You Help Me?’

A plane crash, a toxic-chemical spill, and other “mass-casualty” incidents all represent just the beginning of an extremely complicated response and recovery process. One of the most important “collateral duties” will be the dissemination of timely information to the media, the general public, and the worried families of those dead,

H1N1: Learning from a Less-Than-Worst-Case Scenario

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.

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Article Out Loud – Malicious and Non-Malicious Cyber Incidents: Education and Preparation

Full article by Dan Scherr and Tanya Scherr, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness. In this featured article, two university professors describe the responsibility that organizations and their employees have in preventing cyberattacks. To ensure cyber resilience, disaster planning must include stakeholders across the organization. Learn more about hackers’

Article Out Loud – Securing Cities: The Fight Against Local Level Cyberthreats

  Full article by Michael Breslin, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, October 2, 2024. In this feature article, a cyber investigations specialist with extensive law enforcement experience describes how cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. At the local level, it forms the bedrock of the collective digital safety and

Article Out Loud – Thwarting Terrorist Threats at Home

  Full article by Richard Schoeberl, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 25, 2024. In this feature article, a terrorism expert with over 30 years of law enforcement experience revisits the events leading up to the September 11 attacks. Although the U.S. has not experienced another terrorist attack

Article Out Loud – Responder Fatigue: A Growing Concern

  Full article by Dan Scherr and Tanya Scherr, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 18, 2024. In this feature article, two public policy administration experts address a growing concern about responder fatigue. Emergencies require immediate action by people trained to extinguish fires, treat injuries, protect the public,

Article Out Loud – Crisis Communications: Reaching Teens and Young Adults

  Full article by Barrett Cappetto, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 18, 2024. In this feature article, a pipeline controller responsible for coordinating control center security and operational readiness shares some crisis communications research. Generation Z and millennials encompass almost half of the world’s population, and their

Article Out Loud – AI and 911 Call Systems: A New Ally or a Hidden Risk?

  Full article by Michael Breslin, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 11, 2024. In this feature article, a retired federal law enforcement senior executive describes how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape by increasing efficiencies and risks. As unexpected events can strike at any moment, the

Article Out Loud – Security in and Around D.C.: Following the Informational Dots

  Full article by Catherine L. Feinman, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 11, 2024. In this feature article, the editor-in-chief of Domestic Preparedness shares her key takeaways from a recent interoperability summit focused on Preparing for the 60th Presidential Inauguration. Public safety agencies shared their lessons learned

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