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Emergency Mental Health: Lessons Learned From Flight 3407

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Gregory G. Homish ,
Bonita S. Frazer ,
Daniel P. McCartan  and
Anthony J. Billittier IV
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Abstract

Emergency mental health (EMH), a field that is often not well represented when considering emergency preparedness, is nonetheless a vital component to any disaster response. Emergency mental health issues must be considered not only for victims of disasters and their families, friends, and coworkers but also for both on-scene and off-scene responders and members of the community who may have witnessed the disaster. This article describes the EMH preparation for and response to the crash of Continental Airlines flight 3407 in western New York on February 12, 2009, killing all 49 crew and passengers on board and 1 person on the ground. It describes aspects of the response that went as planned and highlights areas for improvement. The lessons learned from this EMH preparation and response can be used to inform future planning for disaster response.

(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:326-331)

Keywords

mental healthpsychological first aiddisaster planningemergency medical servicesmental health servicesmental disordersaviationdisasters
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 326 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2010

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