Preparing for Terrorism Tools for Evaluating the Metropolitan Medical Response System Program pdf

[...]... performance measures and systems and identifying barriers related to the MMRS development process IOM was then to use those measures to es- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 tablish appropriate evaluation methods, tools, and processes for use by OEP In response to that request, IOM formed the Committee on Evaluation of the Metropolitan Medical Response System Program The primary measure of effectiveness for any program. .. set of measurement tools and describes a process for evaluating the extent to which communities have implemented the plans required by the MMRS program and have begun to achieve real preparedness Specifically, the committee lists 23 essential capabilities that form the basis for preparedness For each of those capabilities, the committee provides a small set of pre1 2 PREPARING FOR TERRORISM paredness... effectiveness of the MMRS program by identifying or developing performance measures and systems and then using those measures to establish appropriate evaluation methods, tools, and processes for use by OEP to assess both its own management of the program and local preparedness in the cities that have participated in the program Both the MMRS program and the local preparedness to cope with terrorism that... invariably seen as conditions for success The 1995 U.S Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) concept of a Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) demonstrated that the leaders of DHHS had a vision for an effective response to a mass-casualty terrorism incident with a weapon of mass destruction The mission was to expand the experimental model of the Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST)... communities themselves deal both with the initial stages of a disaster and with the subsequent influx of outside assistance Therefore, strengthening existing systems not only improves the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 emergency response to terrorist incidents but also improves the emergency responses to other disasters OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL CAPABILITIES The federal government is prepared to... resources Because not all of these capabilities are addressed in the MMRS program contracts, and the Committee was seeking to measure not contract compliance but actual preparedness, the Committee chose to build its evaluation program on these 23 essential capabilities rather than the 12 “deliverables” demanded by the MMRS program contracts Consistent 10 PREPARING FOR TERRORISM with the committee’s earlier... letters in the autumn of 2001, the fact that the letters announced the presence of anthrax spores actually made the diagnosis and response far easier than if, for example, the perpetrator had covertly introduced spores into the air-handling system of a sports arena or airport The victims in that case would have dispersed, perhaps very widely, by the time they became ill, and many might have died before an... indicators for 23 essential response capabilities, and a set of three scenarios and related questions for group discussion The assessment method described integrates document inspection, a site visit by a team of expert peer reviewers, and observations at community exercises and drills A mong the many federal efforts to combat terrorism is the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) program of the U.S... each MMRS program community The initial section of the proposed survey, which could be administered at any point in the course of the contract or after the completion of the contract, solicits input on the extent to which an MMRS program community used OEP-provided resources in fulfilling the terms of its contract and how useful it found those resources for that purpose The survey then queries the respondent... ON PROGRAM SUCCESS Regardless of how the MMRS program is managed by OEP, the ultimate test of the program s worth lies in how well it has helped local communities prepare for the consequences of a massive terrorist attack with CBR weapons The survey described above begins to answer that question by soliciting the opinions of the MMRS program communities themselves Complementing that approach are the . of the Metropolitan Medical Response Program. Preparing for terrorism : tools for evaluating the Metropolitan Medical Response System program / Frederick.