Mass Casualty Supply Kits
January 8, 2018
SUMMARY
Based on lessons learned from the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, Cuyahoga County invested State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) funding to create over 100 deployable mass casualty supply kits. Cuyahoga County deployed these kits in support of the 2016 Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, Ohio.
DESCRIPTION
The After Action Report for the Response to the
2013 Boston Marathon Bombings, produced by
the Massachusetts Emergency Management
Agency, detailed best practices and areas for
improvement for mass casualty incident
response. Among other findings, the report
recommended that hospitals and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies evaluate trauma supply inventory for responding to mass casualty incidents. To address this finding in its own community, the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Safety & Justice Services (PSJS) identified local gaps in mass casualty incident response, including limited trauma supplies.
Cuyahoga County PSJS coordinated with Cleveland urban area hospitals, EMS personnel, and trauma coordinators to compile a list of needed trauma supplies. PSJS invested $102,126 in Fiscal Year 2014 SHSP funding to purchase trauma supplies, including tourniquets and burn sheets, to create over 100 deployable mass casualty supply kits. In 2016, PSJS deployed these kits to the RNC to improve capacity to respond to a potential mass casualty incident. PSJS deployed 25 of these kits in the federally administered “hard zone” of the RNC—a perimeter under the watch of the U.S. Secret Service with concrete barriers and metal fencing. PSJS also deployed 10 kits in the media section within the convention center, and additional kits across the Cleveland urban area. Following the RNC, Cuyahoga County PSJS distributed these kits to 10 mass casualty trailers stationed across the Cleveland urban area’s five counties.
REFERENCES
FEMA National Preparedness Assessment Division. Stakeholder Interview with the Cuyahoga County PSJS. May 10, 2017.