Activity

Activity Description

The Institute of Medicine convened an ad hoc committee of experts in emergency medical response and treatment, medical and public health preparedness, health sciences research, and nuclear medicine to organize a workshop on the current level of public health preparedness for a nuclear event in Tier 1 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) cities and summarize the discussions. The workshop featured presentations and discussions that assessed the health care capacity to treat an affected population with the goal of assuring a safe and effective response to nuclear incidents by civilian and government medical systems and public health services. Specifically the workshop:

1. Reviewed and summarized the overall emergency response activities and available healthcare capacity (including shelter, evacuation, decontamination, and medical infrastructure interdependencies) to treat the affected population;
2. Examined the capacity and identified gaps in the capability of the federal, state and local authorities to deliver available medical countermeasures in a timely enough way to be effective;
3. Reviewed and summarized available treatments for pertinent radiation illnesses including the efficacy of medical countermeasures; and,
4. Appraised the expected benefit of medical countermeasures, including those currently under development.

The workshop was divided into two parts, the first held on June 26-27 and the second on August 7-8, 2008. Workshop 1 addressed state-of-the-art issues in health and health system impacts of an improvised nuclear explosion, emergency medical care, radiation countermeasures, and protective actions and interventions. Workshop 2 featured representatives from Tier 1 UASI cities and the states in which they are located as well as federal response officials. Sessions addressed such issues as the cities’ preparedness for immediate casualties, fallout casualties, and psychological consequences should an improvised nuclear device be detonated today, and currently available medical resources and gaps.

Presentations from both workshops are posted electronically on this project’s website, and can be accessed by selecting the appropriate workshop links at the bottom of the main page.