EMS News Archive

New Documents Regarding Pandemic Flu Guidelines and Protocol Now Available

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) has released two new documents to assist emergency response organizations and first responders in preparing for a pandemic influenza outbreak. EMS Pandemic Influenza Guidelines for Statewide Adoption and Preparing for Pandemic Influenza: Recommendations for Protocol Development for 9-1-1 Personnel and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) are both available on the NHTSA web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
 
These two publications provide guidance and ideas for effective planning and implementation of emergency care and 9-1-1 services in the case of a pandemic flu, in accordance with the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza issued by President Bush on November 1, 2005. The Strategy guides our nation's preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic, with the intent of (1) stopping, slowing, or otherwise limiting the spread of a pandemic to the United States; (2) limiting the domestic spread of a pandemic, and mitigating disease, suffering, and death; and (3) sustaining infrastructure and mitigating impact to the economy and the functioning of society. The NHTSA documents can also be used as a reference for everyday operations.

The challenges of a pandemic versus an epidemic are expected to have a significant impact on all first responders, communities, and families. An epidemic is a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and extensively among many individuals in an area. A pandemic is an epidemic over an especially wide geographic area and comes from the Latin word, "pandemies" meaning "of all the people."

EMS Pandemic Influenza Guidelines for Statewide Adoption and Preparing for Pandemic Influenza: Recommendations for Protocol Development for 9-1-1 Personnel and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) address such key challenges as determining authority in a pandemic, educating the public prior to an emergency, and ensuring that emergency services personnel are properly trained in advance of a crisis situation. For more information regarding federal planning and response activities regarding pandemic influenza, visit www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/federal.

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