189933 Safe house model for mass casualty incident preparedness

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pattama Saengsawang Ulrich, RN, BSN, MPH , Primary Care and Rural Health, Ohio Department of Health, Columbus, OH
Mark E. Gebhart, MD, EMT-P, FAAEM , Master of Public Health Program, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Director of Homeland Emergency Learning and Preparedness Center, Wright State University, Kettering, OH
  
Background: Current models across the United States are inadequate with respect to a community-based approach to mass casualty incident (MCI) preparedness. Public health practitioners have been challenged by unstable funding and limited best practices required for MCI preparedness.

Methods: Conducted retrospective literature review and case study.

Results: The study identified essential and common elements in MCI preparedness, which resulted in the Safe House Model concept. The study showed a community-based model focused on vulnerability and risk reduction is a strong foundation for effective emergency management. The Safe House incorporates best-practice models and strategies such as the Modular Emergency Medical System (MEMS), Model Community, community sustainability, participatory process, cost-benefit analysis and economic appraisal methodologies, prevention strategy, vulnerability and risk reduction. Wright State University (WSU)'s MEMS demonstrated enhanced efficacy and use of the MEMS.

Conclusions: WSU's MEMS and other community-based models have become the essential components of the Safe House Model. The Safe House Model presents decision makers with a comprehensive framework for MCI preparedness. It incorporates public health prevention and community-based strategies with an end result of community sustainability. It is built on two key pillars, community resilience and quality of life, to structure enabling short and long-term MCI preparedness.

Learning Objectives:
1.Identify essential components of a comprehensive community based emergency preparedness management model. 2.Define the model’s two key pillars—community resilience and quality of life—as constructed on a foundation of vulnerability and risk reduction to build a sustainable and resilient community. 3.Replicate the bottom-up and inter-linkage approach to emergency preparedness planning to prevent a catastrophic event from collapsing the community.

Keywords: Management and Sustainability, Quality of Life

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: The presentation material is my graduate culminating experience project in the Master of Public Health Program. My concentrations were Emergency Preparedness Management and Public Health Management. I am also a public health program manager and a public health nurse responsible for development and maintenance of the Pandemic Influenza Operational Plan for city's health department (Columbus Public Health) and county's health department (Franklin County Board of Health).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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