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 Medical Response to WMD | Introduction | Medical Response System | Incident Management | Conclusion | References | Figures
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Terrorist events involving
biological and chemical weapons are a
growing concern in the United States.
Should an incident occur today, the
health care community would be ill
prepared to manage the mass number of
casualties, which are expected. The
Department of Health and Human Services
(HSS) initiated two medical systems to
help manage the overwhelming numbers of
casualties generated from a weapons of
mass destruction event: the Metropolitan
Medical Response System (MMRS) and the
National Disaster Medical System (NDMS).
Even with the initiation of these new
medical systems, efficient and effective
casualty management remains the primary
challenge. It should follow an organized
process of event recognition, activation
of plan, staff and facility preparation,
casualty triage, decontamination,
evacuation, and definitive treatment.
This paper will outline some of the new
medical readiness initiatives and a
recommended casualty management plan.
With the aid of the new medical systems
and a well executed casualty management
plan, our health care community will be
better prepared for a weapon of mass
destruction event.
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