Posted: May 1st, 2025

Discussion Board peers responses!

HealthCare Emergency Responses
1ST
Farhan Alanazi
Week 1 DB
COLLAPSE
1- Based on your readings and experience, compare and contrast how health care emergency
management evolved before 9/11 to its evolution after 9/11.
After the September 11 attack, the healthcare emergency management was improved. First,
there was the development of the National Response Plan (NRP). Before the attack, the country
did not have a national emergency plan that could be used to manage disasters or terror attacks.
After the 9/11 attacks, however, there was the signing of the Homeland Security Presidential
directives 5 and 8. These directives helped bring the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security
together to develop an NRP (today is known as the National Response Framework), which outlines
how the nation should respond to all types of disasters. Also, the directives provided definitions
for response and planning standards for different organizations in the U.S., including private
hospitals.
Second, many hospitals in the event of the 9/11 attack were not prepared for disasters or
stressful events. For example, New York Downtown Hospital, which was one of the hospitals that
treated most 9/11 attack patients did not respond so well to the event. The attack served as a lesson
to them to improve their response and recovery in the event of a future disaster. The hospital built
a huge emergency department after five years, which is specifically meant to respond to major
disasters such as terror attacks. The emergency department has the very best equipment to respond
to disasters or attacks. Additionally, the hospital has an annual international emergencypreparedness symposium that focuses on the topic of disaster management, including the readiness
and response to emergencies (Rose, Murthy, Brooks & Bryant, 2017).
Third, healthcare facilities saw additional changes in emergency management. For instance,
the alignment with other disaster response organizations was inferior in the event of the 9/11 attack.
After the attack, however, the Hospital Preparedness Program evolved to demand more alignment
with other response organizations via joint evacuation planning, mass fatality, patient surge. These
coalitions help create better resource sharing, relationships, and better responses in the event of a
disaster.
2- Why has the scope of healthcare emergency management grown so dramatically? Will the
growth continue?
Over the years, healthcare emergency management has grown significantly. Some of the
top reasons for the drastic growth include continuous and intensive training to the clinical
management and healthcare practitioners, better communication among emergency departments,
and increased funding towards disaster management. First, the training offered to the medical
practitioners concerning disaster preparedness and response is contributing to the growth. The US
government introduced emergency preparedness and response training to medical institutions as
part of the curriculum. As such, graduates from a medical school are equipped with intensive
knowledge regarding disaster management. Secondly, excellent communication among
community services, local and state government is playing a significant role in the enhanced
healthcare emergency management in the US.
Increased technological advancements also play an essential role in the growth of
healthcare emergency management. For instance, technology has made it easier for emergency
departments to communicate in case of any disaster by creating effective channels. Technology
has also made it easy for emergency departments to connect and inform each other about
emergency response plans. Technology also has made it possible for government agencies to
communicate with the public. Lastly, the local and state government allocates adequate funds to
healthcare organizations, mainly in the emergency departments, which has played a significant
role in the drastic growth of emergency management in healthcare institutions. Also, health
agencies direct patients to the most suitable healthcare institutions, and the healthcare facilities
notified before the patients arrive (Sauer, McCarthy, Knebel, & Brewster, 2009). With increased
training and technological advancements, I believe that this growth in healthcare emergency
management will continue.
References
Rose, D. A., Murthy, S., Brooks, J., & Bryant, J. (2017). The evolution of public
health emergency Management as a field of practice. American journal of
public health, 107(S2), S126-S133.
Sauer, L. M., McCarthy, M. L., Knebel, A., & Brewster, P. (2009). Major Influences on
Hospital
Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness. Disaster Med Public
Health Preparedness, S68-S73. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/DMP.0b013e31819ef060
2nd
Mansour Alkhathami
1. Based on your readings and experience, compare and contrast how health care
emergency management evolved before 9/11 to its evolution after 9/11.
The United States, among other countries in the world, has so far experienced several
large-scale disasters. The 11th September 2001 attack that saw the Pentagon and the World
Trade Center buildings hit by hijacked planed as well as the anthrax attack in 2002 was the most
memorable attacks that have changed the United States people’s thinking on emergency
preparedness and response. Before the attack, mainly in mid and late 20th century, there were no
primary emphasis on emergency preparedness, and response since most of the healthcare centers
were only designed to only care for the sick and with different health needs and were mainly
received funding from the community they were located and various religious organizations
(Reilly & Markenson, 2010). Even though this had changed a little, they had limited resources to
cater to mega emergency events like 9/11 and anthrax attacks.
After the attack in 2001, a lot of advancements have been made to prepare and respond to
emergencies of such extent. One of them is funding where hospitals started and are continuing to
receive funding from different sources, including the federal government. This has enabled
hospitals to acquire the necessary resources, plan, and train medical professionals on mass
causality incidents (Sauer et al., 2009). Regulations and standards have also been developed and
outlined for hospitals to follow as emergency management measures and requirements. The 11th
September experience also became a reference point and an awakening point where the federal
government, local government, and hospitals developed a joint mission of improving the level of
emergency preparedness and response.
2. Why has the scope of healthcare emergency management grown so dramatically? Will
the growth continue?
The scope and level of healthcare emergency management have improved significantly,
especially for the past two decades. One of the reasons is the strengthening of The Joint
Commission (TJC), which was initially established in 1951 as a non-profit making organization
for setting standards for healthcare delivery and performance evaluation. TJC has developed
emergency management and preparedness standards with major executions and modifications
done after the 2001 attack. Secondly, the federal government, through its executive branch, has
also significantly influenced the level of healthcare preparedness. For instance, in 2007, the
executive branch of government developed the HSPD-21, which established the National
Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness. Lastly, the support from Congress has
played a significant role in healthcare emergency management. Congress has been passing
different laws and regulations, such as the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2006
(Barbera et al., 2009). The level of healthcare emergency management will continue to grow
since the threats are increasing as the years go by, and terrorists are also improving their attack
tactics.
References
Barbera, J. A., Yeatts, D. J., & Macintyre, A. G. (2009). Challenge of hospital emergency
preparedness: analysis and recommendations. Disaster Medicine and Public Health
Preparedness, 3(S1), S74-S82.
file:///C:/Users/LAWI/AppData/Local/Temp/20200109043707challenge_of_hospital_em
ergency_preparedness_analysis_and_recommendations.pdf
Reilly, M. J., & Markenson, D. S. (2010). Health care emergency management: Principles
and practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.file:///C:/Users/LAWI/AppData/Local/Temp/20200109043705health_care_em
ergency_management__principles_and_practice.pdf
Sauer, L. M., McCarthy, M. L., Knebel, A., & Brewster, P. (2009). Major influences on hospital
emergency management and disaster preparedness. Disaster medicine and public
health preparedness, 3(S1), S68S73.file:///C:/Users/LAWI/AppData/Local/Temp/20200109043709major_influences_on_
hospital_emergency_management_and_disaster_preparedness.pdf
3rd
3 days ago
DB 1
Anne Graf
COLLAPSE
Based on the readings, it can be determined that the healthcare emergency management system
prior to 9/11 ran separately in its own mission and culture of emergency response. Hospitals
developed their own methods of handling emergency situations, while public health officials ran
their response system and emergency managers would respond independently. It was not until
9/11 that the relationship of public health, hospitals and emergency managers developed
coordinated plans for emergency response efforts.
For example, public health departments and emergency management departments historically
had differing missions. The public health field focused on infectious disease emergencies such
as yellow fever or smallpox (Rose et al., 2017). The emergency management field in the 1970s
primarily focused on civil defense until the 1990s when biological and chemical terrorism
became an increasing threat (Rose et al., 2017) did the public health field and emergency
management field began sharing the same scope in their mission. The extent of this overlapping
mission did not prove to be until after the anthrax attack prompted the Homeland Security
Presidential Directive 10 to launch a biodefence program (Sauer et al., 2009). Simultaneously,
hospitals did not align mission and response plans with the overall emergency management
field. For example, hospitals were not equipped to handle a catastrophic mass casualty incident.
Prior to 9/11, the role of healthcare responders was individualized meaning there was an
assumption that EMS would triage patients on-scene, transport them to the appropriate hospital
giving the hospital enough warning to prepare for the patient, and the patient would be admitted
with their information readily available to track the patient (Simon. & Teperman, 2001). After
9/11, it became abundantly clear that this assumption was not accurate. Therefore, a coordinated
emergency management plan between health care providers with emergency responders was
developed. The Joint Commission’s standards of emergency preparedness for healthcare
facilities was modified to an all-hazards approach and community-based planning (Sauer et al.,
2009). Although, healthcare emergency management has evolved a great deal to present day,
with increasing threat of infectious disease, acts of terrorism and natural disasters, the field will
have to continually evolve.
The scope of healthcare emergency management has grown dramatically because of the fallout
of 9/11, when bioterrorist attacks and deadly natural disasters exposed a variety of weaknesses
within the healthcare emergency field. When these events take place and the weaknesses are
scrutinized, the funding and collaboration for solutions increase. These actions in turn catalyze
the growing the scope of what the role of healthcare emergency management is. Therefore, the
field will continue to grow because natural and man-made disasters will not end. Communities
will always seek refuge in a hospital or healthcare facility for injury or resources therefore the
capacity and ability for healthcare facilities to accommodate the variety of needs will always be
assessed and eventually met.
For example, the ability of hospitals to handle and decontaminate patients and staff in the event
of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incident has been recognized as not
only a measurement of a community’s resilience but as well as a responsibility for the hospital
and not EMS (Reilly & Markenson, 2010). Therefore, healthcare managers need to assess the
likelihood of those events taking place in their geographical location and meet the needs for the
hospital to handle it, if such event were to occur.
References:
Barbera J.A., M. A. G., &Yeatts, D. J. (2009). Challenge of hospital emergency preparedness:
Analysis and recommendations. Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness, 3(1), 74-82
Reilly, M., &Markenson, D. S. (2010). Health Care Emergency Management: Principles and
Practice
Rose, Dale A. Murthy, Shivani. Brooks, Jennifer. Bryant, Jeffrey. (2017). The evolution of
public health emergency management as a field practice. American Journal of Public
Health. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303947
Sauer, L. M., McCarthy, M. L., Knebel, A., & Brewster, P. (2009). Major influences on hospital
emergency management preparedness and disaster preparedness. Disaster Med Public Health
Preparedness, 3(1), S68-S73.
Simon, R., & Teperman, S. (2001). The World Trade Center attack. Lessons for disaster management. Critical
care (London, England), 5(6), 318–320. doi:10.1186/cc1060