Catastrophic Event Response Planning week 9 Discussion (In your own words, referencing) Only 100 words Instructional Objectives for this activity: Describe the Medical Mass Casualty plan. A mass...

Catastrophic Event Response Planning week 9
Discussion

(In your own words, referencing)

Page 331
OVERVIEW
Chapter Eight will continue discussions started earlier in this text about the specific needs of mass casualty and mass fatality planning. Mass fatality events require very specific needs that will be different from mass casualty. While a mass casualty event will require extensive first aid, emergency, and trauma, medicine and patient intake capacity, a mass fatality event will trigger the need for the safe, though, and solemn task of recovering, identifying, hygienically string, accounting for and to the greatest degree possible, and the safe returning of human remains to the proper next-of-kin. By both dentitions a “mass fatality” or “mass casualty” event is one that will typically overwhelm and exceed the medical and mortuary capabilities of a single community.

Case Study: PINE LAKE DISASTER (page 338-339)
July 14, 2000 will never be forgotten in Alberta. At 1900 hours an f3 TORMADO STURK THE Green Acers Campground. It is estimated that over500 camper units where at the campground. The tornado’s path of destruction was 1.5 miles wide and 17 miles ling. Unfortunately 12 people died as a result of the tornado.
Discussion with Mr. Sterling, acting EMT-P and acting fire chief cliff Fuller provided the following information. The emergency call was received as a “micro – burst at unit 56 with one seriously injured”. The RCMP was first to arrive followed shortly behind by one unit from Guardian Ambulance. This first ambulance did not actually enter the campground. They transported two critically injured children from the entrance of the park. One call for help was made over a cell phone, and then the cell tower was overwhelmed with calls.
The County of Red Deer fire Department was next TO ARRIVE. Acting Fire Chief Cliff Fuller AAUMED THE ROLE OF Incident Command. His role included delegation of a search and rescue included Guardian Ambulance, the Decontamination Unit from Edmonton, Decontamination unit from Nova Chemicals, STARS, HUSSARS (Heavy Equipment), the dive team from Calgary Fire, Red Deer Search AND Rescue, RCMP, and the Military, as well as, many other agencies too numerous to mention.
Sterling Martin assumed the role of Medical Command. Within 20 minutes over 100 injured people came forward looking for help. “It was like a scene out of a war zone.’ He estimates that within 3 hours and 40 minutes all patients had been transported. Over 130 patients were rescued, triaged and transported to hospitals. The majority of the patients were transported to Red Deer. Hospitals in Calgary were placed on alert and prepared by discharging those patients who could safely be managed at home.
Unfortunately the tornado destroyed the computer which had the records of who was camping in Pine Lake at the time of the disaster. Therefore, a complete search of the path of destruction was esquire. All 17 miles were searched. This search lasted 10 days.
On day two, Cliff Fuller assumed the role of site manger. His duties included over- seeing of all other rescue efforts. He assumed this role for the next nine days.
Challenge:
M r. Martin discussed several changes of the Pine Lake disaster. The first challenge was a lack of communication. The responding ambulances were able to communicate to which each other in the park. However, due the overwhelming number of cell phones in use at the campground after the tornado struck, they were only able to place one call for additional help. This is an important lesson for those services that use cell phones as a primary method for communication.
Secondly, he said that had made the treatment areas” too small”. This area became congested and this made treatment a challenge. It is recommended that in large scale disasters that the treatment area be located far away from the actual disaster to prevent recreation of the disaster in this area.
As well, they discovered that no one had kept a record of the patient names and where these patients were transported.
Finally, he stated that the role of those services called to respond after the initial assessment is to provide assistance but their role is not assume control.
Important for all EMS services is that the grassroots EME’S , EMT’s and EMTP’s get the work done and large EMS services should avoid the tendency to want to take control from the small services, unless they are asked to provide this service.
Summary:
The priorities of any incident, regardless of size, should be safety, organization and then patient care. In order to provide the most effective and efficient patient care, EMS personnel must approach each situation in a safe and organized fashion.
To have an effective disaster plan requires rescue personnel to use portions id this plan in day-to- day operations, including the small routine emergency. This rehearsal of the components of an MCI plan will develop proficiency and allow for a smooth transition into a larger more complex emergency when required. If the disaster plan is only active on large-scale emergencies there will be a lack of familiarity with its use. Furthermore, routine activation develops confidence for all levels of command and the other agencies involved. To avoid the “paper plan syndrome”, regular implementation and review of the disaster plan are essential to having a successful operation. An example of this is found in Medicine Hat where colored triage cards used on all ambulance calls.
The key component of a disaster plan is the Incident Command Systems. This ICS includes fire suppression, rescue, law enforcement, and medical services. Medical Incident Command is then further broken down to include staging, triage, treatment, and transportation. Successful management of a staging requires that all participants know their responsibilities.
Fortunately large scale MCI’s are unique events that do not occur frequently. These events require responders to change roles from their normal routine, EMS providers must think of the multiple casualties, and be prepared to overlook no salvageable victims for less injured victims. Initial scène assessment and communication are higher priorities than patient care.
Following any critical incident a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing must occur to preserve the mental well being of those rescuers involved. Many EMS services have formalized CISM. This is separate from the operational debriefing.

Important lessons always come from a tragedy. The use of cell phones, as a primary method of communication, does not work during times of large scale disasters. Ensure that you make the treatment area large enough to avoid congestion. Have a method to identify rescuers. The importance of disaster preparedness for all EMS services is paramount, often the arrival of other EMS services occurs well after most of the triage, treatment and transportation has begun,
Reference
CCi Custom Publication (2005).
Catastrophic event response planning.
Boston: Pearson.