The Hospital ICS: Mainstream Solution, or Barely Used?
Craig DeAtley
November 24, 2010
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 right direction, though – but at much less than flank speed.
The Limits of Detection: A New Horizon Beckons
Chris Weber
November 24, 2010
To enter, or not to enter? That is the first and most important question facing first responders arriving at the scene of a major incident where there is reason to believe the area may be contaminated by biological agents. Lives are at stake, though, so quick decisions are mandatory, and there is no time to wait for the production and distribution of Gen 3.0 detection systems.
Hospital Emergency Departments – Infectious Diseases: The First Line of Defense
Theodore Tully
November 24, 2010
Very few Emergency Departments in U.S. hospitals can cope with a major outbreak of infectious diseases. But there is much that could & should be done before an outbreak occurs. Improved communications between and among all major medical facilities in the same geographic area should be the first priority, along with more and better training, and the elimination of current legal roadblocks jamming the system.
Biodetection: Today, Tomorrow & Years Later
Glen Rudner
November 17, 2010
Most U.S. counterterrorism experts and senior DHS and DOD officials agree that the greatest danger
now facing the nation is not a nuclear attack but a biological warfare agent – which would be extremely
difficult to detect, much less counter. There has been some limited progress in U.S. detection
capabilities, but a much greater effort is needed. Immediately, if not sooner.
Swabs and Samples; Assays and Analytes
Patti Riggs
November 17, 2010
The collection of “samples” at the scene of a crime – or a toxic release or other possible mass-casualty incident – calls for extremely detailed planning, precise execution, and constant vigilance. Here is a short list of some of the numerous dangers and difficulties involved – some of them terminal in nature.
DomPrep Executive Briefing on PS-Prep
Martin D. Masiuk
November 17, 2010
The well attended 15 November DomPrep Executive Briefing on the Department of Homeland Security’s
new “Private-Sector Preparedness” program not only provided a wealth of information for those
participating but also raised several exceptionally relevant questions – on a broad range of closely
related topics. The one virtually unanimous conclusion (no “official vote” was taken, though) was that
additional briefings, in even greater depth, are urgently needed and should be scheduled just as soon as
possible.
UTMB: From Disaster Planning to Long-Term Recovery
Cameron W, Slocum and James Lee Witt
November 10, 2010
Established in 1891 as the Medical Department of the University of Texas and housed in a single building with a class of 23 students, the University of Texas Medical Branch
‘Pathogens for Knuckleheads’: The Enemy Within – Invisible & Infectious
Christina M. Flowers
November 10, 2010
A possible nuclear attack against the U.S. homeland gets more attention, but homeland-security experts say an attack involving biological weapons could be much more devastating in its consequences. The warhead of such weapons would be pathogens – which, as this primer “for Knuckleheads” points out, are low in cost, easy to obtain, and already here, in galactic abundance.
Bio-Preparedness: From the Top Down
Jennifer Smither
November 3, 2010
A smart leader recruits the most capable assistants he/she can find – and uses them wisely. But
some topics in today’s dangerous world are of such transcendent importance – bio-preparedness, for
example – that decisions cannot be relegated to subordinates. And neither can the drills, training
sessions, and tabletop exercises required to understand those topics both in depth and in person.
The Driving Forces Behind Policy Making
Joseph Cahill
November 3, 2010
EMTs and other responders face a host of dangers at the scene of a major accident. But the greatest danger, in many cases, is on the open highways and crowded streets that must be navigated, often at high speed, to and from a multi-vehicle collision or the sudden fire that broke out in a high-rise apartment building.
