"Most disasters are unplanned, but the response shouldn't be," said AMA President Ronald M. Davis, M.D. "Whether disasters are natural or man-made, infectious disease pandemics or terrorist attacks, physicians, health care professionals and public health workers must be prepared to respond to emergencies and aid in the recovery efforts that follow. We can't predict when a disaster will strike, but as first responders, we can better prepare ourselves and others to protect the health and safety of our patients and citizens."
The AMA and APHA convened the AMA/APHA Linkages Leadership Summit, which met in 2005 in Chicago and 2006 in New Orleans to develop consensus recommendations that would be used to promote a coordinated national agenda for strengthening health system preparedness for terrorism and other disasters. Nine critical recommendations from the consensus report make up a call to action in four categories:
- Public health systems must be appropriately funded to adequately respond to day-to-day emergencies and catastrophic mass casualty events
- Public health and disaster response systems must be fully integrated and interoperable at all government levels
- Health care and public health professionals should maintain an appropriate level of education and training
- Health care and public health responders must be provided and assured adequate legal protections in a disaster.
The AMA/APHA Linkages Leadership Summit project was funded under a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Terrorism Injuries: Information Dissemination and Exchange (TIIDE) program. Click here to obtain a copy of the full report.