"After The Fire"; The Legacy of College Dormitory Fire Twenty Years Later.

In January of 2000 the team at The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas was confronted with what is to date, the single largest burn mass casualty incident since its doors opened in 1977. Looking back through history at other catastrophes shows that, even in the wake of these "landmark events", the lessons learned remain, so that perhaps all was not in vain. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 19 While this fire took place more than twenty years ago, its legacy is still being felt today.

Determining Immediate Burn Bed Availability to Support Regional Disaster Response.

Determining burn bed availability from the start of a disaster is critical to emergency response efforts, yet continues to be one of the most elusive aspects for planners to anticipate. Healthcare providers agree that, over time, burn centers (BCs) can and will move patients, activate staff, and bring in supplies to meet surge needs. The real challenge lies in identifying how many beds will be immediately available to handle any initial surge of patients.

District of Columbia Emergency Healthcare Coalition Burn Mass Casualty Plan: Development to Exercise Date.

The District of Columbia Emergency Healthcare Coalition (DC EHC) brought together a Burn Task Force to tackle the issue of mass burn care in a metropolitan area in light of limited local burn center resources. This article outlines the development of the mass burn care plan. Using a tiered treatment approach, mass burn victims would be transported first to burn centers within the area, followed by nonburn center trauma centers, and finally to nonburn and nontrauma center acute care facilities.

What's in a Name? Recent Key Projects of the Committee on Organization and Delivery of Burn Care.

The Committee for the Organization and Delivery of Burn Care (ODBC) was charged by President Palmieri and the American Burn Association (ABA) Board of Directors with presenting a plenary session at the 45th Meeting of the ABA in Palm Springs, CA, in 2013. The objective of the plenary session was to inform the membership about the wide range of the activities performed by the ODBC committee. The hope was that this session would encourage active involvement within the ABA as a means to improve the delivery of future burn care.

Disaster planning: the basics of creating a burn mass casualty disaster plan for a burn center.

In 2005, the American Burn Association published burn disaster guidelines. This work recognized that local and state assets are the most important resources in the initial 24- to 48-hour management of a burn disaster. Historical experiences suggest there is ample opportunity to improve local and state preparedness for a major burn disaster.

Developing and implementing a plan for large-scale burn disaster response in New Jersey.

For the first time in modern history burn centers must face the reality of having to potentially care for a staggering number of injured patients. Factors such as staffing, patient acuity and bed availability compel medical professionals to regularly examine various aspects of their respective healthcare delivery systems, especially with regards to how these systems should function for mass casualty response. The majority of burn care in New Jersey is provided by one designated burn treatment facility.

Burn disaster response planning in New York City: updated recommendations for best practices.

Since its inception in 2006, the New York City (NYC) Task Force for Patients with Burns has continued to develop a city-wide and regional response plan that addressed the triage, treatment, transportation of 50/million (400) adult and pediatric victims for 3 to 5 days after a large-scale burn disaster within NYC until such time that a burn center bed and transportation could be secured. The following presents updated recommendations on these planning efforts. Previously published literature, project deliverables, and meeting documents for the period of 2009-2010 were reviewed.

'Just send them all to a burn centre': managing burn resources in a mass casualty incident.

Burn experts estimate that 20-30 per cent of injuries from mass casualty events result in serious burns, many requiring specialised care only available at burn centres. Yet, in the USA there are less then 1,850 burn beds available to provide such a level and quality of care. To address this concern, burn centres are beginning to put into practice new mass casualty triage and transport guidelines that must coordinate with local, regional and federal response plans, while still adhering to an accepted standard of care.

Practice guidelines for deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis in burns.

Measures to prevent deep venous thrombosis (DVT), including low-dose subcutaneous heparin, low molecular weight heparin, or sequential compression devices, may be considered in high-risk patients, specifically those with a previous history of thromboembolic disease, and in patients with significant burns of the lower extremities. The purpose of this guideline is to review the principles of prophylaxis for DVT in burn patients and to present a reasonable approach for the treatment of patients during burn resuscitation. This guideline is designed to aid those physicians who are responsible for the triage and initial management of burn patients.