This column was originally published in AMA eVoice on August 9, 2007. Dr. Davis is president of the American Medical Association.
I'd like to express my gratitude to the many physicians, nurses, and other members of the health care, rescue, and community support teams who responded to the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis last week. Physicians and other health care providers at Hennepin County Medical Center, the University of Minnesota, North Memorial and other hospitals worked through the night treating those injured, and my heart goes out to the victims and families affected by this tragedy.
This calamity is a stark reminder that while most disasters are unplanned, the response to them shouldn't be. According to a statement by Robert K. Meiches, MD, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Medical Association, Hennepin County Medical Center's extensive disaster preparedness training enabled the facility to respond effectively to the bridge collapse—proof that disaster response plans not only work but are essential in health care.
The AMA has emerged as a national leader on this front. Through the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response, the AMA's National Disaster Life Support™ (NDLS) program trains physicians, medical students, and other health professionals about their integrated roles and responsibilities in community, state, or regional disaster response. About 50,000 health care professionals have completed NDLS courses at 47 training centers nationwide.
In June, the AMA released the inaugural issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal emphasizing the importance of public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care rofessionals. The only comprehensive publication of its kind, the journal showcases research and analysis relevant to disaster medicine and public health preparedness from experts in all specialties of clinical medicine, epidemiology, public health, and disaster management.
And just last month, the AMA joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in hosting the Second National Congress on Health System Readiness, a three-day event to bring public health and health care delivery sectors together to improve influenza pandemic preparedness at the community level. In conjunction with that, the AMA, the American Public Health Association, and 16 other highly respected organizations in the fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing, emergency medical services, hospital systems, and public health released a report (PDF, 778KB) on how we can improve health system preparedness in case of terrorism or mass casualty events.
The report includes several recommendations (PDF, 690KB), such as better integrating health care and public health systems so they're more rapid, more efficient, and more interoperable—at all levels of government and within the civilian sector. Speed and efficiency are the keys to saving lives when it comes to responding to any disaster; the bigger the disaster, the more lives there are that need to be saved at precisely the same time. It's an enormous challenge.
On Sept. 11, I will be participating in a symposium on Global Public Health Preparedness sponsored by the Office of Public Health Practice at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. The program, which features several national and global leaders in the field, will be available via live and archived webcast. Registration is required and CME credits will be offered. Details are available on the school's Web site.
The only thing we can predict with any certainty about terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events is this: We're not going to know the time, location, and magnitude in advance. But we have no excuse if our responses aren't known in advance, from the worst-case scenarios on down to relatively minor incidents. I urge you to do your part and be prepared.
The lighter side
As mentioned above, the Second National Congress on Health System Readiness focused on pandemic influenza. In my closing remarks at the conference, I read a poem by Cal Beacock about influenza, which appeared in the Jan. 1986 issue of Reader's Digest:
"A bunch of germs were whooping it up
In the Bronchial Saloon.
The bacillus handling the larynx
Was jazzing a gag-time tune,
While back of the tongue in a solo game
Sat 'Dangerous Ah Kerchoo.'
And watching his luck was his light of love
The malady known as 'Flu.'"
I challenged the audience to write a better poem—which got a good laugh. And I suggested that a new poem about the malady known as "Flu” should address how all of us came together to prevent her from ever becoming a full-scale pandemic.
Please send comments, questions, and replies to amaprez@ama-assn.org
Content provided by: Ronald M. Davis, MD