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Use of Alternate Healthcare Facilities as Alternate Transport Destinations during a Mass-Casualty Incident

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Erik S. Glassman  and
Steven J. Parrillo
Erik S. Glassman*
Affiliation:
Disaster Medicine and Management Masters Program, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
Steven J. Parrillo
Affiliation:
Associate Professor Jefferson Medical College and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Medical Director, Disaster Medicine and Management Masters, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
*
1425 South Eads Street Apartment 1109 Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA E-mail: Erik.Glassman@gmail.com
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Abstract

The purpose of this discussion is to review the use of destinations other than the hospital emergency department, to transport patients injured as a result of a mass-casualty incident (MCI). A MCI has the ability to overwhelm traditional hospital resources normally thought of as appropriate destinations for the transport of injured patients. As a result, those with less severe injuries often are required to wait before they can receive definitive treatment. This waiting period, either at the scene of the incident or in the emergency department, can increase morbidity and drain resources that can be better directed toward the transport and care of those more severely injured. Potential alternate transport destinations include physician office buildings, ambulatory care centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and urgent care centers. By allowing for transport to alternate locations, these less severely injured patients can be removed rapidly from the scene, treated, and potentially released. This effort can decrease the strain on traditional resources within the system, better allowing these resources to treat more seriously injured patients.

Keywords

alternate healthcare facilitiesmass-casualty incidentpreparednesssurge capacitytransport
Type
Research Article
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 178 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2010

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