Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 16 released its final rule on “Emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid participating providers and suppliers.” The rule establishes requirements to plan for natural and man-made disasters and coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local emergency…

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It was shortly after 2 am on Sunday, June 12. Ambulances, trucks, and cars started arriving at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) loaded with shooting victims from a terrorist attack at the Pulse nightclub. Because ORMC was just a couple of blocks from the nightclub, first responders loaded multiple victims…

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Terrorist incidents are increasingly frequent, and most US healthcare facilities have established mass casualty protocols to make sure they are prepared. Although treating large numbers of injured patients simultaneously is still the exception rather than the rule, many urban facilities regularly receive gunshot victims. A recent example of receiving multiple…

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Healthcare facilities are places of healing. Sometimes they also can be places of danger and death—just like the rest of the world. When an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) became the site of a fatal stabbing 3 years ago, outpatient surgery leapt into the public eye, and not in a good…

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Editor's Note Rebuilding America’s Warriors (RAW) will provide free surgery to survivors of the Orlando nightclub shootings, WFTV9 Eyewitness News reports. The RAW group comprises more than 350 surgeons in more than 40 states who perform reconstructive surgery for war veterans for free. In addition to the surgeons covering the…

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Editor's Note An American College of Surgeons (ACS)-sponsored resolution to train more professional (ie, police, firefighters) and civilian first responders in the techniques of bleeding control and to place bleeding control kits with the responders was approved June 14 by the American Medical Association House of Delegates, ACS says in…

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Editor's Note Orlando Regional Medical Center treated 44 of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims; nine died, the June 14 Modern Healthcare reports. A total of 26 surgical procedures were performed early Sunday morning, June 12, six more were performed on Monday, and eight were performed on Tuesday, June 14, with…

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Emergencies such as the one described above don’t happen frequently in the OR, but it is important to prepare for them, and simulation has emerged as an ideal educational tool. This scenario took place in a simulation lab, not a real OR, so the danger to the “patient” (manikin) consisted…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists on December 7 released a new resource for hospitals, physicians, and OR personnel—the Operating Room Mass Casualty Management checklist. The tool helps anesthesiologists and OR personnel optimize their response and better manage the flow of patient care during mass casualty events. The checklist…

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Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are taking a new look at the question of disaster response. Staff are not always informed about what emergencies might occur, or what they should do in response to the most likely scenarios. Likewise, many local emergency management agencies are not even aware of the ASCs…

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