Outside the box and into thick air: implementation of an exterior mobile pediatric emergency response team for North American H1N1 (swine) influenza virus in Houston, Texas.

Study Objective: We describe the implementation of a mobile pediatric emergency response team for mildly ill children with influenza-like illnesses during the H1N1 swine influenza outbreak.

Methods: This was a descriptive quality improvement study conducted in the Texas Children's Hospital (Houston, TX) pediatric emergency department (ED), covered, open-air parking lot from May 1, 2009, to May 7, 2009. Children aged 18 years or younger were screened for viral respiratory symptoms and sent to designated areas of the ED according to level of acuity, possibility of influenza-like illness, and the anticipated need for laboratory evaluation.

Integrating authorities and disciplines into the preparedness-planning process: a study of mental health, public health, and emergency management.

The process of integrating all necessary authorities and disciplines into an organized preparedness plan is complex, and the inclusion of disaster mental health poses specific challenges. The goals of this project were (1) to identify whether state mental health preparedness was included in state public health and emergency management preparedness plans, (2) to document barriers to entry and strategies reportedly used by state authorities in efforts to incorporate reasonable mental health preparedness into existing public health and emergency management preparedness planning, (3) to employ a theory for organizational change to organize and synthesize this information, and (4) to stimulate further discussion and research supporting coordinated preparedness efforts at the state level, particularly those inclusive of mental health. To accomplish these goals we (1) counted the number of state public health preparedness and emergency management plans that either included, mentioned, or omitted a mental health preparedness plan; (2) interviewed key officials from nine representative states for their reports on strategies used in seeking greater inclusion of mental health preparedness in public health and emergency management preparedness planning; and (3) synthesized these results to contribute to the national dialogue on coordinating disaster preparedness, particularly with respect to mental health preparedness.