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de related guidelines to be adopted uniformly by government agencies and hospitals. This scoring system and the set of guidelines are to be used in disaster settings, such as Hurricane Katrina, and are based on three key factors relative health, duration of time on mechanical ventilation, and patients' use of resources during a disaster. For any event requiring large numbers of ventilators for patients, the United States is woefully unprepared. The deficiencies in this aspect of preparedness include (1) lack of accountability for physical ventilators, (2) lack of understanding with which healthcare professionals can safely operate these ventilators, (3) lack of understanding from where additional ventilator resources exist, and (4) a triage strategy to provide ventilator support to those patients with the greatest chances of survival.A 2007 pandemic exercise in Maricopa County, Arizona, the 5th largest urban population in the United States, revealed major vulnerabilities in planning, response, resource utilization, and the decision-making process, which would be common to any large urban setting where multiple independent organizations exist and have not yet coordinated or shared their plans. Communication challenges are both prevalent and magnified in large urban settings. There must be tough, broad-based decision making by healthcare leadership with guidance and processes at every level to assure compliance to the primary goals of pandemic flu plans necessary to control the transmission rate of the disease. A unifying decision-making element such as a Health-related Emergency Operations Center is critical for the coordination, which serves all urban health systems. Education and training in pre-event protocols for triage management is crucial at every level where resources will be scant. This is especially true in admissions to intensive care units and priorities for ventilator use.The complexities and challenges for healthcare providers and their efforts to provide fundamental basic items to meet the logistical demands of an influenza pandemic are discussed in this article. The supply chain, planning, and alternatives for inevitable shortages are some of the considerations associated with this emergency mass critical care situation. The planning process and support for such events are discussed in detail with several recommendations obtained from the literature and the experience from recent mass casualty incidents (MCIs). The first step in this planning process is the development of specific triage requirements during an influenza pandemic. The second step is identification of logistical resources required during such a pandemic, which are then analyzed within the proposed logistics science and art model for planning purposes. learn more Resources highlighted within the model include allocation and use of work force, bed space, intensive care unit assets, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and oxygen. The third step is using the model to discuss in detail possible workarounds, suitable substitutes, and resource allocation. An examination is also made of the ethics surrounding palliative care within the construction of an MCI and the factors that will inevitably determine rationing and prioritizing of these critical assets to palliative care patients.

To quantify the readiness of individual academic emergency departments (EDs) in the United States for an outbreak of pandemic influenza. Methods, design, and setting Cross-sectional assessment of influenza pandemic preparedness level of EDs in the United States via survey of medical directors and department chairs from the 135 academic emergency medicine departments in the United States. Preparedness assessed using a novel score of 15 critical preparedness indicators. Data analysis consisted of summary statistics, χ

, and ANOVA.

ED medical directors and department chairs.

One hundred and thirty academic emergency medicine departments contacted; 66 (50.4 percent) responded. Approximately half (56.0 percent) stated their ED had a written plan for pandemic influenza response. Mean preparedness score was 7.2 (SD = 4.0) out of 15 (48.0 percent); only one program (1.5 percent) achieved a perfect score. Respondents from programs with larger EDs (=30 beds) were more likely to have a higher preparedness score (rs to appropriate pandemic preparedness, as well as to develop and validate preparedness metrics.

To assess the level of pandemic preparedness at emergency departments (EDs) around the country and to better understand current barriers to preparedness in the United States represented by health professionals in the American College of Emergency Physician (ACEP) Disaster Medicine Section (DMS). Methods, design, and setting A cross-sectional survey of ACEP DMS members was performed. A total of 300 members were surveyed both via e-mail and with paper surveys during the 2009 ACEP Scientific Assembly DMS Meeting. An optional comments section was included for section members' perspectives on barriers to preparedness. A 15-item pandemic preparedness score was calculated for each respondent based on key preparedness indicators as defined by the authors. Results were analyzed with descriptive statistics, χ

analysis, Cochran-Armitage trend test, and analysis of variance. Free text comments were coded and subjected to frequency-based analysis.

A total of 92 DMS members completed the survey with a response rate oe (p = 0.03) and more likely to have a pandemic preparedness plan (p = 0.037). Some major barriers to preparedness cited by section members included lack of local administration support, challenges in funding, need for dedicated disaster preparedness personnel, staffing shortages, and a lack of communication among disaster response agencies, particularly at the federal level.

There appear to be significant gaps in pandemic influenza and other infectious disease outbreak planning among the hospitals where ACEP DMS members work. This may reflect a broader underlying inadequacy of preparedness measures.

There appear to be significant gaps in pandemic influenza and other infectious disease outbreak planning among the hospitals where ACEP DMS members work. This may reflect a broader underlying inadequacy of preparedness measures.