Status of a National Disaster Medical Response

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Abstract
DISASTER MEDICINE is in its infancy in the United States. Aside from the periodic reminder to update our disaster plans for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and conduct a couple of drills each year, no one tends to think about the exceptionally remote possibility of a catastrophic event—although it will surely occur. In the midst of this overwhelming indifference, three events occurred during the last decade that served to heighten our sensibilities to disaster preparedness. In 1980, Mount St Helens blew its top, accelerating a series of federal activities that were already initiated, culminating in the creation of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS)—a purely voluntary system with no allocated budget. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo and the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred only months apart and tested the NDMS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. These disasters demonstrated a number of weaknesses in both

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