Today Dr. Jim Shultz and I had the great pleasure and honor of presenting the Surge, Sort and Support course at Cedars Miami. For us this was a great homecoming as Cedars is located next door our main offices.
As we expected, the Cedars team was receptive and enthusiastic! The constant applause enlivened Dr. Shultz to a point seldom seen even for him. Even a veteran professional speaker such as myself was moved to the edge of tears as I gave the emotional closing to a Cedars family who had made us their own.
As always, the morning began with a review of the Disaster Life Cycle and the Footprint of Disaster. Dr. Shultz reviewed the science and I provided the narrative stories to drive home the scope of the challenge. Surge capacity and Surge throughput are the themes of the mid-morning and the tidal wave of humanity Dr. Shultz presents focused the group on the need to plan for more than just the patients.
Sort (aka Triage) was yet another opportunity to introduce the newest iteration and integration of triage systems, “Integrated Triage.” The audience was enthralled as they listened to the first full scale application of Integrated Triage in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina. They then listened to the auctioneer like pace as the actual triage evaluation process was presented in real time.
Support finished out the morning with the introduction of Psychological First Aid, the Hospital Based Support Center and the Family Center. These new tools for the care and treatment of the survivors of disaster are now a part of Integrated Triage.
The afternoon, as always, focused on the responders. The aspects of Psychological First Aid turned inward on the responder and the healthcare professional began the afternoon. The ever present resilience toolbox finished the day by providing each participant with a sampling of the resources available to ensure their individual resilience.
Thank you Cedars for your hospitality and dedication.
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