Some days you just don't know where the reminder will come from. Today it was a Fortune Cookie! My fortune read:
"Do what you can with what you have, where you are."
While certainly not ancient Chinese wisdom, it is a concise summary of Disaster Response.
The goal of disaster response is to do the most good for the most people with the resources available at that moment. During the planning phase critical processes and pathways are identified. The chock points along those pathways are identified and resources dedicated to those key points. Thus, the capacity of these pathways is expanded and the entire system becomes more robust. Through this process you can do more for more people at that moment in time.
"Do what you can with what you have, where you are."
A basic reality of Disaster Response is that needs cannot be reduced and resources will be limited. Once processes and systems are made as robust as possible, the next technique for expanding the ability to respond is to change the location where less critical processes occur.
The foundation of trauma and disaster medical care is to separate the survivors from the event. This is seen everyday when an ambulance takes the survivors of motor vehicle accidents to the hospital rather than bringing trauma services to the accident scene. In disaster response, this means sending the minimally injured to a more distant treatment site, thus conserving local resources for those unable to evacuate now.
"Do what you can with what you have, where you are."
Not bad for a Fortune Cookie.
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