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Logistical considerations for emergency response resources
Abstract
Resource management is a critical component of disaster preparedness and response. The type and quantity of resources and supplies needed by any particular community will be determined by several factors including the disasters affecting the community, existing resources within the community, resources available from neighboring communities, and the vulnerability assessment of a community. Ideally only needed resources should be requested and delivered. Unsolicited aid can often hamper an emergency response. The needs of a community will change during a disaster. Often the immediate need focuses on the medical sector. Issues such as hygiene, water and shelter will occur later. Disaster planning and logistical management of resources should not only consider the short-term needs of the community but also the long-term consequences of a disaster on the community.
... Given a disaster has not made requesting help impossible, emergency disaster relief must be solicited by the nation in which the disaster occurred. But after that request has been received, disaster relief must come almost immediately; therefore, military contingencies must be prepared in advance for on-call service [26][27][28][29]. ...
... These efforts must be adaptable/scalable (i.e., modular) to conform to the unfolding situation and interoperable with local practitioners and existing higher level health/ hospital infrastructures still operable or regaining operability in the area/region [27,28]. Even though local medical infrastructure will be compromised, many local skilled medical practitioners will be available [25]. ...
... Medical events will include lacerations, contusions, blunt force trauma, fractures, internal injuries, punctures, burns, asphyxiations, amputations, and obstetric complications [11] and births [10,13,14,23,24,27]. Wound cleaning and dressing constitutes the majority of needs. ...
Background
This article reports the exploratory development and study efforts regarding the viability of a novel “going-in light” or “Going Light” medical component in support of US Army Pacific (USARPAC) Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) missions, namely, a BLU-MED® incremental modular equipment package along with a Rapid Deployment Medical Team (RDMT). The study was conducted to uncover a way for the U.S. Army to: (1) better medically support the greater U.S. military Pacific Command, (2) prepare the Army for Pacific HA/DR contingencies, and (3) imprint a swift presence and positive contribution to Pacific HA/DR operations. Methods
The findings were derived from an intensive quasi-Military Decision Making Planning (MDMP) process, specifically, the Oracle Delphi. This process was used to: (1) review a needs assessment on the profile of disasters in general and the Pacific in particular and (2) critically examine the viability and issues surrounding a Pacific HA/DR medical response of going in light and incrementally. ResultsThe Pacific area of operations contains 9 of 15 countries most at risk for disasters in the most disaster-prone region of the world. So, it is not a matter of whether a major, potentially large-scale lethal disaster will occur but rather when. Solid empirical research has shown that by every outcome measured Joint Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) medical HA/DR operations have been inordinately successful and cost-effective when they employed U.S. Army medical assets inland near disasters’ kinetic impact and combined sister services’ logistical support and expertise. In this regard, USARPAC has the potential to go in light and successfully fill a vital HA/DR medical response gap with the RDMT and a BLU-MED®. However, initially going in fast and light and expanding and contracting as the situation dictates comes with subsequent challenges as briefly described herein that must be addressed. Conclusions
The challenges to going in light are not insurmountable “show stoppers.” They can be identified and addressed through planning and preparation. Hopefully, the acquisition rapid response light components will equip commanders with more effective options with which to conduct Pacific HA/DR operations and be a focal point for effective joint operations.
... In cases of devastating disasters, appropriate disaster/emergency management is essential to mitigate the harmful effects of a disaster, by alleviating its impact on human health, community function, and infrastructure. Disaster/emergency management covers the actions and utilization of resources specific to the period before, during, and after a disaster [1,2]. Several reports have described the facts and lessons learned in terms of disaster/emergency management following large-scale disasters such as the tsunami in Banda Aceh (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), and the Bam, Iran (2003), and Great East Japan (2011) earthquakes [3][4][5][6]. ...
We aimed to examine sleep in shelter-analogue settings to determine the sleep and environmental conditions in evacuation shelters. A summer social/educational event was conducted in an elementary school, wherein children and their parents (n = 109) spent one night in the school gymnasium; a total of 15 children and 7 adults completed the study. Data were recording using wrist actigraphy and questionnaires, from two days before the event to two days after the event. During the night in the gymnasium, sleep initiation in the children was found to be significantly delayed, whereas adults did not show any significant change in actigraphic sleep parameters. Although 57% of adults complained of stiffness of the floor, only 7% of children had the same complaint. The nocturnal noise recorded at four locations in the gymnasium showed that the percentage of 1-min data epochs with a noise level >40 dB ranged from 53% to 74% during lights-out. The number of subjects that woke up during the night showed a similar pattern with the changes in the noise level. The changes in sleep might represent event-specific responses, such as to a noisy environment, and the different complaints between adults and children could be useful in shelter management.
... Sustaining such a complex response requires an incident management system with sufficient logistical and operational capacity to support the needs of various subject matter experts, such as database managers, epidemiologists, laboratorians, virologists, public health specialists, risk communicators, information technologists, and anthropologists. 1 Additionally, it requires resources beyond subject matter experts. 2,3 The 2009 H1N1 outbreak in Mexico served as a reminder for public health agencies of the importance of having strong logistical and operational support during public health emergencies. ...
Hosting an international outbreak response team can pose a challenge to jurisdictions not familiar with incident management frameworks. Basic principles of team forming, organizing, and executing mission critical activities require simple and flexible communication that can be easily understood by the host country's public health leadership and international support agencies. Familiarity with incident command system principles before a public health emergency could save time and effort during the initial phases of the response and aid in operationalizing and sustaining complex field activities throughout the response. The 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 in Mexico highlighted the importance of adequately organizing and managing limited resources and expertise using incident management principles. This case study describes logistical and operational aspects of the response and highlights challenges faced during this response that may be relevant to the organization of public health responses and incidents requiring international assistance and cooperation.
... Sustaining such a complex response requires an incident management system with sufficient logistical and operational capacity to support the needs of various subject matter experts, such as database managers, epidemiologists, laboratorians, virologists, public health specialists, risk communicators, information technologists, and anthropologists. 1 Additionally, it requires resources beyond subject matter experts. 2,3 The 2009 H1N1 outbreak in Mexico served as a reminder for public health agencies of the importance of having strong logistical and operational support during public health emergencies. ...
Hosting an international outbreak response team can pose a challenge to jurisdictions not familiar with incident management frameworks. Basic principles of team forming, organizing, and executing mission critical activities require simple and flexible communication that can be easily understood by the host country's public health leadership and international support agencies. Familiarity with incident command system principles before a public health emergency could save time and effort during the initial phases of the response and aid in operationalizing and sustaining complex field activities throughout the response. The 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 in Mexico highlighted the importance of adequately organizing and managing limited resources and expertise using incident management principles. This case study describes logistical and operational aspects of the response and highlights challenges faced during this re-sponse that may be relevant to the organization of public health responses and incidents requiring international assis-tance and cooperation.
A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Over 96% of all deaths from natural disasters occur in developing countries. Natural disasters kill one million people around the world each decade and leave millions more homeless each year. Disaster preparedness and management refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. That is, to predict, prevent, and mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations, and respond to their consequences. Disaster preparedness is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of activities and resources rather than from a distinct activity by itself. It requires the contributions of many different areas ranging from training and logistics, to health care to institutional development.
Catastrophic mass casualty events (MCEs), such as pandemic influenza outbreaks, earthquakes, or large-scale terrorism-related events, quickly and suddenly yield thousands of victims whose needs overwhelm local and regional health care systems, personnel, and resources. Such conditions require deploying scarce resources in a manner that is different from the more common multiple casualty event. This article presents issues associated with providing nursing care under MCE circumstances of scarce resources and the educational needs of nurses to prepare them to effectively respond in these emergencies. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2015;46(x):xxx-xxx.
Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.
Introducción Los desastres nunca han estado ajenos a la evolución y vida del hombre; en los últimos 20 años, los de origen natural han cegado aproximadamente 3 millones de vidas en el mundo; han afectado adversamente, por lo menos, a 800 millones de personas y han ocasionado pérdidas por más de 50 000 millones de dólares en daños a la propiedad. Un desastre de grandes proporciones ocurre casi diariamente en el mundo y uno natural, que requiere apoyo internacional para las poblaciones afectadas, se presenta semanalmente. Desafortunadamente, las amenazas fundadas en los desastres probablemente serán peores en el futuro y América Latina es una de las zonas más vulnerables del planeta. Se estima que en esta área ocurre un gran desastre cada 233 días, uno mediano cada 14 días y 5,2 pequeños por día. Desastre Es un evento de gran magnitud, que altera la estructura básica y el funcionamiento normal de una sociedad o comunidad, ocasionando víctimas y daños o pérdidas de bienes materiales, infraestructura, servicios esenciales o medios de sustento a escala o dimensión más allá de la capacidad normal de las comunidades o instituciones afectadas para enfrentarlas sin ayuda, también se considera, si existe una perturbación ecológica abrumadora que acaece a escala suficiente para que se necesite auxilio.
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