Article Out Loud

Joplin High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School both suffered devastating disasters – one natural and one manmade. In both cases, the residents rallied behind their schools and their communities to rebuild and recover.

By using mHealth technologies, local health departments can improve their efficiency and effectiveness not only in communicating with the public but also in dispensing medical countermeasures during large-scale pandemics.

Effective trainings are ones where the participants remember and later implement what they learned into their daily operations. Not everyone knows how they would respond in a true emergency. However, some trainings provide a more realistic glimpse into disaster scenarios than others.

Although it may not have been readily apparent in early 2020, the federal government did have a comprehensive national strategy and implementation plan for a pandemic threat. Despite having these resources and knowledge, the United States was still unprepared to effectively respond to COVID-19.

First responders are often deployed to unique operating environments, which include large-scale special events with many participants and spectators: street festivals; road races or marathons; concerts; and sporting events. These environments require leadership to take a forward-thinking posture in the planning process to develop a strategy.

Having choices opens many opportunities for patients and responders as well as medical staff within the U.S. healthcare system. However, that benefit has led to complications in communications and the sharing of information.