- Mass casualty events
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A mass casualty event is defined as a situation that stresses the first responders (such as firefighters and emergency medical technicians) as well the healthcare system in general. There are many different kinds of MCEs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention break up the types of MCEs into bioterrorism, chemical emergencies, radiation emergencies, natural disasters like weather (CDC, 2009) and first responders even consider large car accidents to be an MCE.
Because there are so many types of MCEs and so many opportunities for them to occur the states of the United States have many different first responders prepared to respond. Most cities have Emergency Medical Services, such as ambulance crews. Other first responders include firefighters (may or may not be heavy rescue equipped), law enforcement (police), or even military. Cities are also equipped with receiving facilities for all of these first responders to transport to, such as hospitals.
References
- EMSC Company, "AMR Disaster Response Team Recent Disaster Responses." American Medical Response. 2009. AMR. 26 Feb 2009 <http://www.amr.net/Disaster-Response/Recent-Disaster-Responses.aspx>.
- Health Systems Research, Inc., "Altered Standards of Care in Mass Casualty." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2005. 26 Feb 2009 <http://www.ahrq.gov/research/altstand/altstand.pdf>.
- Roberts, Marc. "Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2007. Health Systems Research. 26 Feb 2009
<http://www.ahrq.gov/research/mce/mceguide.pdf>.
- Various Authors, "Emergency Preparedness and Response." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2009 26 Feb 2009 <http://www.bt.cdc.gov/>.
- FEMA, "Disaster Information." FEMA. 2009. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 28 Mar 2009 <http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm>.
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical , "Learning From 9/11." Medical News Today 11 Sep 2006 28 Mar 2009 <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51578.php>.
- Dwyer, Jim. "Fatal Confusion." The New York Times 07 Jul 2002 28 Mar 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/nyregion/fatal-confusion-troubled-emergency-response-9-11-exposed-deadly-flaws-rescue.html>.
Categories:- Disasters
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