Mass Casualty Care: Overlooked Community Resources

Slide Presentation by Andrea Hassol, M.S.P.H and Richard Zane, M.D.

On May 17, 2005, Ms. Hassol and Dr. Zane made a presentation in a Web conference entitled Mass Casualty Care: Overlooked Community Resources: Reopening Shuttered Hospitals to Expand Surge Capacity.

This is the text version of Ms. Hassol's and Dr. Zane's slide presentation.

Reopening Shuttered Hospitals to Expand Surge Capacity

Andrea Hassol, M.S.P.H.
Senior Associate, Health Division
ABT Associates, Incorporated
Cambridge, MA

Richard Zane, M.D.
Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine
Medical Director, Bio-defense and Emergency Preparedness
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Slide 1

Characteristics of a Shuttered Hospital

• No inpatient 24-7 services provided
• Modest daytime services (walk-in clinic, elder day care, etc.)
• Life safety and fire system licenses valid
• Utilities (heat, electricity, water) operational

Slide 2

Patient Care Scenarios

Generic Mass Casualty Event

("Domino plan" to move patients)

Or:

Epidemic

(Requires an isolation facility)

Slide 3

Services at Shuttered Hospitals

Might offer:

• Medical and post-surgical care for stable patients
• Monitoring
• Medication and wound care
• Lab and pharmacy

Slide 4

Services at Shuttered Hospitals (cont.)

Would probably not offer:

• Surgery
• Intensive care
• Complex chemotherapy
• Dialysis
• Acute psychiatric or detox care
• Obstetrics and pediatrics

Slide 5

Potential Barriers for Facilities

• Someone must be responsible for advancing planning and preparation
• Medical entity and medical director must be responsible for operations
• Many regulations would need to be waived
• Financing uncertain

Current as of September 2005

Internet Citation:

Mass Casualty Care: Overlooked Community Resources. Text version of a slide presentation at a Web-assisted Audioconference. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/massresources/XXXXXXXtxt.htm

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