The Next Challenge in Healthcare Preparedness: Catastrophic Health Events
"...The Center’s analysis of the current system for a national response to CHEs revealed several major challenges:
• Many hospitals and other healthcare organizations do not yet participate in fully functional healthcare coalitions, which are necessary to CHE response.
• Most existing coalitions do not yet have the ability to share information, resources, and decision making with neighboring coalitions during a CHE.
• There are inadequate systems to perform the necessary triage, immediate treatment, and transport of patients outside of the immediate area stricken by a CHE.
• Existing plans and resources for patient transport are grossly inadequate for moving the expected numbers of patients.
• There is not enough guidance on the crisis standards of care that will be necessary throughout all stages of a CHE.
• There is no plan that sufficiently outlines healthcare roles, responsibilities, and actions during the response to a CHE..."