Public Health Archives

Radiological and Psychological Medical Countermeasures

Sophia Paros October 12, 2011

As natural and manmade disasters increase in intensity, the need for hospital preparedness plans, as well as mass relocation plans, becomes critical when taking into account the public health and medical needs of at-risk individuals and groups in the event of a public health emergency.

Afterglow – Countering the Deadly Effects of Radiation

Joseph Cahill October 5, 2011

Silent, odor-free, invisible, and deadly: The radiation left by a dirty bomb, hazmat spill, or laboratory accident is usually difficult to detect and represents a “double danger” not only to those already on the scene of a potential mass-casualty incident but also to the EMTs and first responders seeking to save others –

CDP’s School Bus Enhances Mass Triage Scenario

Shannon Arledge October 5, 2011

The “first child” could not be saved, which meant that considerable time had already been wasted. But real life is a grim teacher – which is exactly why the Center for Domestic Preparedness makes its chilling incident scenarios as lifelike and realistic as possible. The end result: Invaluable training for

Building Resilience: Emergency Management Standards, Technology, and Training

Kay C. Goss September 28, 2011

The term “Resilience” started out as a vague and ill-defined insiders’ buzzword, later escalated into a good idea, then became an operational goal, and eventually an equal partner with readiness, response, and recovery. In the last several years it has continued to evolve into a major area of operations and

Attaining Resilience: Getting From Here to There

Robert McCreight September 28, 2011

Everyone is in favor of “good government” (at a reasonable cost). But a clear, complete, and universally accepted definition of what constitutes good government is almost impossible to find. The same holds true of “resilience” – which all responders, emergency managers, political leaders, and everyday citizens approve of – and

Anthrax Prevention – Risks vs. Benefits

Thomas K. Zink September 21, 2011

Thanks at least partially to the “do no harm” precept mandated in the Hippocratic Oath, the practice of medicine has for centuries been built on a firm foundation of acceptable ethics. Which is why some highly respected medical experts are now raising questions about current U.S. policies governing the proper

Beyond an Active-Shooter Scenario: Countering a Multimodal Martyrdom Operation

Joseph W. Trindal September 21, 2011

Throughout history, the most difficult enemy to stop has been the lone-wolf assassin willing to sacrifice his/her own life for what he/she considers a noble cause. When that person is part of a larger team of would-be martyrs, the task becomes immensely more difficult and broader in scope. Advance training helps – but

Emergency Preparedness: The ABGs of Radiation

Jeffrey Williams September 14, 2011

Although radiation hazards are not a new concern, the impact of such hazards on first responders and emergency managers has been brought to the forefront with events such as the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the earthquake/tsunami nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima, Japan, earlier this year. These

Resurrection & Remembrance: The World Trade Center

Joseph Cahill September 14, 2011

During the fall of the twin towers, many responder groups, and individual responders, were forced to scatter. In addition, responder vehicles and equipment were lost, unit cohesion collapsed, and the air thickened into an almost opaque fluid. As the world’s visible edge moved closer and closer to the viewer on

Improving Situational Awareness During a Nuclear/Chemical Attack

Omar Alkhalaf September 7, 2011

California’s Ventura County uses forward-looking tracking capabilities to plan for mass evacuations. Its emergency planners are already focusing on the worst-case scenarios of a future nuclear or chemical attack, including the possibility that hundreds of thousands of refugees from Los Angeles might see the county as their destination of choice

The Next Pandemic: Understanding the Public Health Role

Raphael Barishansky and Audrey Mazurek September 7, 2011

In coping with pandemics, public health authorities play one of the most important roles in the overall process of planning, preparedness, response, and recovery. Although the term “pandemic” refers to a wide range of infectious diseases – e.g., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), plague, smallpox, and tuberculosis – the current focus

The Growing Complexities of Port Rescue Operations

Corey Ranslem August 31, 2011

Disaster-response operations are always risky, and almost always complicated. The risks and complications are demonstrably much greater, though, when the incident occurs in a major port, which is already a dangerous place to work and, in addition, has in recent years become a particularly attractive target for terrorists.

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