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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Thomas F. Rich, Abt Associates Inc., 55 Wheeler St., Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-349-2753, tom_rich@abtassoc.com

With funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Abt Associates and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University developed the Surge Model, a web-based tool for estimating the medical resources required to treat casualties resulting from WMD events. Nine different scenarios are modeled: two biological (anthrax and smallpox), three chemical (chlorine, sulfer mustard, and sarin), two nuclear (1 KT and 10 KT explosion), and two radiological (cesium dispersion device and point source). The tool includes a casualty module, which transforms a number of user-specified inputs (including characteristics of where the attack occurs) into the number of persons who initially require medical attention, by day, following an attack. Daily casualty counts are divided into different categories, depending on their medical needs, such as requires hospital admission to a medical/surgical bed, requires an intensive care unit bed, etc. The tool captures resource utilization in six categories: placement (bed and bed type), staff (including all health professionals), medications, medical materiel, nutrition, and housekeeping/supplies. The tool is available for use on the AHRQ web site.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to describe and use the Surge Model, understand its key assumptions and limitations, and determine whether the model will be an appropriate planning tool for use within their organization.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, Emergency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No