Bleeding Control Protections Within US Good Samaritan Laws.

INTRODUCTION: In the United States, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs). Designed to encourage bystanders to aid at the scene of an emergency, GSLs generally limit the risk of civil tort liability if the care is rendered in good faith. Nation-wide, a leading cause of preventable death is uncontrolled external hemorrhage. Public bleeding control initiatives aim to train the public to recognize life-threatening external bleeding, perform life-sustaining interventions (including direct pressure, tourniquet application, and wound packing), and to promote access to bleeding control equipment to ensure a rapid response from bystanders. METHODS: This study sought to identify the GSLs in each state and the District of Columbia to identify what type of responder is covered by the law (eg, all laypersons, only trained individuals, or only licensed health care providers) and if bleeding control is explicitly included or excluded in their Good Samaritan coverage. RESULTS: Good Samaritan Laws providing civil liability qualified immunity were identified in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. One state, Oklahoma, specifically includes bleeding control in its GSLs. Six states - Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Missouri - have laws that define those covered under Good Samaritan immunity, generally limiting protection to individuals trained in a standard first aid or resuscitation course or health care clinicians. No state explicitly excludes bleeding control from their GSLs, and one state expressly includes it. CONCLUSION: Nation-wide across the United States, most states have broad bystander coverage within GSLs for emergency medical conditions of all types, including bleeding emergencies, and no state explicitly excludes bleeding control interventions. Some states restrict coverage to those health care personnel or bystanders who have completed a specific training program. Opportunity exists for additional research into those states whose GSLs may not be inclusive of bleeding control interventions.

Changes needed in the care for sheltered persons: a multistate analysis from Hurricane Katrina.

OBJECTIVES: Following Hurricane Katrina, nearly 1,400 evacuation shelters were opened in 27 states across the nation to accommodate the more than 450,000 evacuees from the gulf region. The levee breaks in New Orleans and storm surge in Mississippi brought about significant morbidity and mortality, ultimately killing more than 1,300 people. The purpose of this study was to summarize the health needs of approximately 30,000 displaced persons who resided in shelters in eight states, including prescription medication needs, dispersement of durable medical equipment, and referrals for further care. METHODS: The first available 31,272 medical encounters forms were utilized as a convenience sample of displaced persons in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Florida. This medical encounter form was completed by volunteer nurses, was standardized across all shelters, and included demographic information, need for acute or preventive care, pre-existing medical conditions, disposition referrals, need for prescription medication, and frequency of volunteer providers who providing care outside of their first-aid scope. RESULTS: Sheltered persons who received only acute care numbered 11,306 (36.2 percent), and those who received only preventive/chronic care numbered 10,403 (33.3 percent). A similar number, 9,563 (30.6 percent) persons, received both acute and preventive/chronic care. There were 3,356 (10.7 percent) sheltered persons who received some form of durable medical equipment. Glasses were given to 2,124 people (6.8 percent of the total visits receiving them) and were the most commonly dispense item. This is followed by dental devices (495, 1.6 percent) and glucose meters (339, 1.1 percent). Prescriptions were given to 8,154 (29.0 percent) sheltered persons. Referrals were made to 13,815 (44.2 percent) of sheltered persons who presented for medical care. The pharmacy was the most common location for referrals for 5,785 (18.5 percent) of all sheltered persons seeking medical care. Referrals were also made to outpatient clinics 3,856 (12.3 percent), opticians 2,480 (7.9 percent), and public health resources 1,136 (4.3 percent). Only 1,173 (3.8 percent) sheltered persons who presented for medical care and were referred to the emergency department or hospital for further care. CONCLUSIONS: Hurricane Katrina illustrated the need to strengthen the healthcare planning and response in regard to sheltered persons with a particular focus on primary and preventive care services. This study has reemphasized the need for primary medical care and pharmaceuticals in sheltered persons and shown new data regarding the dispersement of durable medical equipment and the frequent need for healthcare beyond the shelter setting as evidenced by referrals.

Mass-casualty triage: time for an evidence-based approach.

Mass-casualty triage has developed from a wartime necessity to a civilian tool to ensure that constrained medical resources are directed at achieving the greatest good for the most number of people. Several primary and secondary triage tools have been developed, including Simple Treatment and Rapid Transport (START), JumpSTART, Care Flight Triage, Triage Sieve, Sacco Triage Method, Secondary Assessment of Victim Endpoint (SAVE), and Pediatric Triage Tape. Evidence to support the use of one triage algorithm over another is limited, and the development of effective triage protocols is an important research priority. The most widely recognized mass-casualty triage algorithms in use today are not evidence-based, and no studies directly address these issues in the mass-casualty setting. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated existing mass-casualty triage algorithms regarding ease of use, reliability, and validity when biological, chemical, or radiological agents are introduced. Currently, the lack of a standardized mass-casualty triage system that is well validated, reliable, and uniformly accepted, remains an important gap. Future research directed at triage is recognized as a necessity, and the development of a practical, universal, triage algorithm that incorporates requirements for decontamination or special precautions for infectious agents would facilitate a more organized mass-casualty medical response.

Strategies to improve sleep during extended search and rescue operations.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated strategies to improve sleeping conditions during search and rescue operations during disaster response. METHODS: Forty members of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Urban Search and Rescue Team were surveyed for individual sleep habits and sleeping aids used during extended deployments. Team members were also asked to suggest methods to improve sleep on future deployments. RESULTS: The average amount of sleep during field operations was 5.4 hours with a range of 4-8 hours. Eight percent surveyed would prefer another schedule besides the 12-hour work day, all of whom proposed three 8-hour shifts. Fifteen percent of participants were interested in a pharmacological sleeping aid. Fifty percent of search and rescue members interviewed would consider using nonpharmacological sleeping aids. Furthermore, 40% of participants stated they had successfully devised self-employed methods of sleep aids for previous deployments, such as ear plugs, massage, mental imagery, personal routines, music and headphones, reading, and blindfolds. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that availability of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological sleeping aids to search and rescue workers via the team cache could impact the quantity of sleep. Further investigation into methods of optimizing sleep during field missions could theoretically show enhanced performance through various aspects of missions including mitigation of errors, improved productivity, and improved overall physiological and emotional well-being of search and rescue personnel.