Abstract:
In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, over 100,000 individuals were evacuated to the United States, primarily arriving through Philadelphia International Airport and Dulles International Airport under Operation Allies Welcome. In Philadelphia, evacuees were greeted at the airport by a medical triage unit (MTU) that was rapidly assembled to provide on-site medical care. The MTU triaged emergent medical complaints, handled minor complaints on-site to reduce impact on local health care systems, distributed patients who did require a higher level of care among area hospitals, and ensured appropriate follow-up care for individuals with ongoing needs. Although there are regional and federal entities whose purview is the establishment and coordination of such responses, these entities were not mobilized to respond immediately when planes began to arrive carrying the first wave of evacuees as this event was not a designated disaster. The MTU was a grassroots effort initiated by local health care providers in coordination with the local Medical Reserve Corps and Department of Public Health. This article presents a framework for similar operations, anticipating an ongoing need for planning for sudden arrivals of large numbers of displaced persons, particularly via air travel, in a time of increasing mass displacement events, as well as a rationale for establishing more robust networks of local medical professionals willing to respond in the case of an emergency and involving them in the emergency planning processes to ensure preexisting protocols are practical.
摘要:
在美国从阿富汗撤军之后,超过10万人被疏散到美国,主要通过费城国际机场和杜勒斯国际机场抵达盟军欢迎行动。在费城,撤离人员在机场受到医疗分诊单位(MTU)的欢迎,该单位迅速组装以提供现场医疗服务。MTU对紧急医疗投诉进行了分类,现场处理轻微投诉,以减少对当地医疗保健系统的影响,在地区医院中确实需要更高水平护理的分布式患者,并确保为有持续需求的个人提供适当的后续护理。尽管有区域和联邦实体的职权范围是建立和协调此类对策,当飞机开始携带第一波撤离人员抵达时,这些实体没有被动员起来立即作出反应,因为这一事件不是指定的灾难。MTU是当地卫生保健提供者与当地医疗后备队和公共卫生部协调发起的一项基层努力。本文介绍了类似操作的框架,预计持续需要规划大量流离失所者的突然到来,特别是通过航空旅行,在大规模流离失所事件不断增加的时代,以及建立更强大的本地医疗专业人员网络的理由,这些专业人员愿意在紧急情况下做出反应,并让他们参与应急计划过程,以确保现有的协议切实可行。