Hospital Mass Casualty Response Plan Considerations
From ASPR-TRACIE: The term “mass casualty incident” (MCI) refers to the combination of patients and care requirements that require mobilization of additional resources to meet the demand. MCIs generally occur without warning and a concise plan is needed to ensure rapid and efficient response. The Hospital Mass Casualty Response Plan Considerations document can assist hospitals in developing a new—or vetting an existing—MCI plan.
Hospital Mass Casualty Response Plan Considerations

ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) Resource Spotlight: Managing Patient Surge in Rural Areas, Experiences from Gallup Indian Medical Center
In many rural areas, patient transfer is a common practice, though often strained by various factors. For this article, ASPR TRACIE met with Dr. Emily Bartlett, an emergency medicine physician who has worked at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico (GIMC) since 2020 to learn more about how the center determined which patients to transport and which to treat in place as they overcame related challenges. She was joined by Brandon Wyaco, Public Information Officer from the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. 

ASPR Support for East Palestine, Ohio One Year After Train Derailment
ASPR developed detailed recommendations on strategies to address the behavioral health impact of the derailment on the East Palestine community and provided these written recommendations to the Responsible Party at the request of FEMA. In December 2023, disaster behavioral health and disaster recovery SME’s from ASPR’s Office of Response met with the FEMA’s Federal Coordinator and representatives of the Responsible Party to brief on the recommendations, which are evidence-informed based on the current state of science about the effects of technological disasters on population behavioral health and are actionable but require funding from the Responsible Party.
Read the full press release from the White House for additional actions taken from the entire federal government.

​Hospital Mass Casualty Response Plan Considerations 
The term “mass casualty incident” (MCI) refers to the combination of patients and care requirements that require mobilization of additional resources to meet the demand. MCIs generally occur without warning and a concise plan is needed to ensure rapid and efficient response. Hospital Mass Casualty Response Plan Considerations can assist hospitals in developing a new—or vetting an existing—MCI plan.


Disaster Behavioral Health: Resources at Your Fingertips (Updated)
When disasters strike, the ripple effects can be significant. Incorporating disaster behavioral health (DBH) into all phases of emergency management can ensure resident and responder preparedness, an effective, compassionate response effort, and a more resilient community moving forward. ASPR TRACIE recently updated Disaster Behavioral Health: Resources at Your Fingertips to provide information on and links to select DBH programs and resources that can be of immediate use to emergency health care providers, emergency management stakeholders, and other professionals and survivors affected by naturally occurring or human-caused incidents. 


The Evolution of Patient Load Balancing: The Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council 
Regional patient load balancing is an art and science that has evolved across the U.S., particularly over the past few years. In The Evolution of Patient Load Balancing, ASPR TRACIE interviewed Eric Epley of the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council—who was the Council’s first official hire in 1998 and currently serves as the executive director/chief executive officer—to learn how the Council has evolved and promising practices in load balancing and other trauma-related efforts. Access Issue 18 of The Exchange for more articles on innovations in health care surge management.


Register Today: AHEPP’s Annual Conference
Registration for the Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals’ 2024 Annual Conference ends February 25. Register today and visit the ASPR TRACIE Team at our booth! We will also be highlighting our On-Campus Healthcare Facility Armed Assailant Planning Considerations document during a two-hour workshop on February 28, from 2:40-4:30 PM.


Project ECHO Clinical Readiness Rounds
ASPR and Project ECHO have launched HHS/ASPR Project ECHO Clinical Readiness Rounds to create peer-to-peer learning networks where clinicians who have more experience treating patients in emergency situations share their challenges and successes with clinicians across the U.S. and around the world with a wide variety of experience of these situations. Topics for sessions are based on new and emergent information around emergency preparedness and topics requested by participants. Please contact [email protected] for more information.


Updates from the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection
ASPR’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) offers a variety of newsletters to keep stakeholders informed during emergency response and steady state. The newsletters inform stakeholders of the most significant issues facing the health care and public health sector, including cybersecurity, health care supply chains, and more. If you are interested in receiving CIP newsletters, visit the CIP newsletter subscription webpage.

ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) Resource Spotlight: The Exchange Issue 18, Innovations in Health Care Capacity Management
The articles in this issue focus on the experiences and lessons learned by health care facilities and systems during the early phases of the pandemic and beyond, to include the “tripledemic” (respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and COVID-19) that affected children in the state of Washington and across the U.S. during the winter of 2022-2023. It examined the history and evolution of the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council with a focus on their efforts to load patients during mass casualty incidents and public health emergencies.

Subject matter experts from California discussed the unique characteristics and challenges faced by Imperial County and how tents and the use of an alternate care site (ACS) bolstered patient care. Final article highlights the experiences of a Navajo Area Indian Health Service hospital working around the clock to locate appropriate receiving facilities and provided care in place while simultaneously managing staffing shortages.


Now Available: Electronic Health Records and Downtime Procedures Topic Collection
​Patient data is as voluminous as it is vital. Recent cyber-attacks, disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the need for patient data to be protected and accessible by emergency medical providers. Most health care facilities use electronic health records (EHR) to store patient health history and other data. There are multiple Health Information Technology/EHR software programs available, making interoperability a challenge. Recent lessons learned highlight both the utility of these programs and the challenges and risks associated with data collection, access, quality, and transfer capabilities. ASPR’s Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) has updated the EHR Topic Collection and it is now the Electronic Health Records and Downtime Procedures Topic Collection. The resources in this Topic Collection include guidance and lessons learned specific to EHR.
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ASPR TRACIE Webinar: Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire
December 14, 2023
On February 7, 2023, a 10-alarm fire at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital (Massachusetts) resulted in the total hospital evacuation of more than 100 patients, continued closure, and extensive recovery efforts. In the Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire webinar (scheduled for December 14, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 PM ET), hospital representatives will discuss their successes and challenges with patient movement, transfers, and discharge; maintaining patient and staff safety; managing cascading events; collaboration with local/state/regional partners; and how lessons learned impact facility plans, protocols, and training.
Space is limited - register today!


ASPR Resource Spotlight: Access and Functional Needs Web-Based Training
About half of the people in the U.S. have access and/or functional needs - and they are at heightened risk during emergencies. ASPR has developed a web-based training course that is targeted to public health officials, emergency managers, and social/human service providers. They need to be aware of and comply with legal requirements designed to protect individuals with Access and Functional Needs (AFN) from discrimination. The training highlights information from federal guidance, laws and executive orders that require non-discrimination for addressing AFN—both specific and nonspecific to a disaster context. It will help to ensure individuals and organizations can better meet the needs of AFN during emergencies. 
ASPR's Access and Functional Needs Web-based Training Course

ASPR TRACIE and ASPR’s Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence hosted the Lessons Learned from the Pediatric Tripledemic: Systems, Staff, Space, and Supplies roundtable where panelists shared lessons learned from the 2022-2023 pediatric surge due to influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus. Participants discussed successes and challenges in information sharing, the use of specialty resources in response (e.g., Medical Operations Coordination Centers), augmenting staff, and coordination with supply chain and coalition partners. Check out our Pediatric/Children Topic Collection for related resources.   ​