Disaster Medical Operations
DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS ---
Remember - CERT training will familiarize you with these operations.
In a disaster, there are always more victims than rescuers and help from city and county entities,
law enforcement or emergency personnel are not always readily available. The people who are
are willing to help in a disaster, will need to assist in doing whatever they know how to do. Once again, the number of victims will exceed the community’s capacity for treatment.
The CERT volunteers will be asked to help assist in a disaster with some of the MEDICAL OPERATIONS:
1. LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS - the "ABC" Scenario to access in a disaster medical situation:
a. Airway (blocked)
b. Bleeding
c. Circulation
ROUTINE TREATMENTS for:
*** AIRWAY BLOCKED ***
1. Shake a person’s shoulder and shout "Can you hear me?"
2. If the victim does not respond or is unable to respond, use the Head/Tilt/Chin lift which opens up the airway.
3. Place your ear over victim’s mouth - listening for any air exchange and watching for any chest or abdominal
movement.
***BLEEDING*** (put on latex gloves)
1. Apply a clean dressing over wound and apply firm pressure.
2. Elevate wound above level of the heart.
3. Pressure points - the brachial in the arm, femoral in the leg.
***CIRCULATION*** (Shock)
1. Lay victim on their back and elevate feet 6 to 10 inches above the heart.
2. Always maintain the victim's airway.
3. Keep any bleeding under control.
4. Maintain body heat. Cover the ground and victim with a blanket.
5. Unless rescuer and victim are in immediate danger, avoid excessive handling.
2. DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATION SUBFUNCTIONS:
1. Triage, Treatment, Transport, and Morgue.
a. TRIAGE - meaning the sorting and classification of victims according to priority
of needs and treatment. Strategy - more victims than rescuers, limited resources,
and time is critical, so triage will occur after victim is located or rescued.
3 categories of triage:
1. Immediate - life threatening demands so attention and treatment is urgent,the (ABC).
2. Delayed - injuries are not life threatening so treatment can be delayed.
3. Dead - after 2 attempts to open airway and no respiration, if there are more victims than rescuers, the on-on-one CPR is labor intensive and is not performed. Move on to next victim.
** CERTs goal is to do greater good for the greatest number to survive.**
b. TREATMENT AREAS - will be established as soon as casualties are confirmed. Treatment areas will be:
1. in a safe area.
2. accessible by transportation vehicles.
3. expandable.
c. TRANSPORT - is the movement from triage to a treatment area that is safe, close
to but uphill and upwind from all hazards and accessible by vehicles or other
means of transportation.
d. MORGUE: a temporary holding area for victims who have died as a result of their
injuries. There may be other designated holding areas too.
3. DEATH from trauma:
1. the overwhelming and irreversible damage to vital organs within minutes.
2. excessive bleeding within several hours
3. an infection left untreated and the organs starting to fail due to complications
from injuries within several days or weeks.
This is an area where CERT volunteers step in an aid victims with less urgent conditions.
**Helpful Reminder** ---: Focus oneself on the task at hand AND
utilize the word "LAST" = LOCATE, ASSESS, STABILIZE, TRANSPORT ---
Popular Disaster Medical Operations webpage’s:
CERT Unit 2 - Disaster Medical Operations
Newport Beach Fire Department
Syndicate
