Emergency Mental Health: Lessons Learned from Flight 3407

Emergency Mental Health (EMH), a field often not well represented when considering emergency preparedness, is nonetheless a vital component to any disaster response. EMH issues must be considered for not only victims of disasters and their families, friends, co-workers, but also for both on-scene and off location responders as well as community members who may have witnessed the disaster. On February 12, 2009, Continental Airlines Flight 3407 crashed in Western New York killing all 49 crew and passengers on board and one person on the ground. This work describes the EMH preparation and response to this tragedy. Three separate, but coordinated, disaster mental health teams were responsible for all mental health aspects of the response. Each team was assigned to work with a different population. Importantly, mental health services were offered to all individuals (e.g., families, responders, community members) using both traditional responders (e.g., therapists) as well as complimentary approaches (e.g., canine therapy teams). The objective of this work is to describe lessons learned from the response. It details aspects of the mental health response that went as planned, as well as highlights areas for improvement. Pre-disaster planning and training, as well as evaluations of previous responses, helped to ensure a coordinated approach to providing mental health services to all individuals in need. The lessons learned from this EMH preparation and response can be used to inform future planning for disaster response.