Citation

Chavez CW, Binder B. J. Emerg. Med. 1996; 14(4): 445-454.

Affiliation

Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Sepulveda, California, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8842918

Abstract

Many hospital emergency plans focus on the hospital as a disaster responder, with a fully operational medical facility, able to receive and treat mass casualties from a clearly defined accident scene. However, hospitals need to prepare a response for extreme casualty events such as earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes. This article describes the planning, mitigation, response, and recovery of a major medical--surgical center thrust into a victim responder role following the devastating Northridge earthquake. The subsequent evacuation and care of patients, treatment of casualties, incident command, prior education and training, and recovery issues are addressed.

Language: en