Jim Macdonald, who knows a thing or two about emergency medicine and preparedness, has a "how to triage" post over at Making Light.
Triage for Fun and Profit
Posted by Jim Macdonald at 09:19 AM * 93 comments
The concept of “triage” has been much in the news. Since emergency medicine is one of my hobbyhorses, I’ll ride it for a while.
Triage is a French word that means “sorting.” It comes into play any time your resources are overwhelmed.
In any emergency involving casualties there will be some who will get better even if you do nothing, and some who will die even if you do everything. Between those two extremes there will be a number who will get better if you do the right things right now but will die if you don’t. The purpose of triage is to find those people so your limited resources can go to them.
Listen up, people, each of us should be prepared to survive up to seven days without expecting the cavalry to ride to the rescue. Taking care of your neighbors who aren't prepared should be on your list too. Triage will be a reality.
Your comments on personal responsibility in preparedness are right on. It the public did their job in being prepared, far fewer risks would have to be taken by Public Safety professionals. That would be a good thing for all involved.
Posted by: Chris Church | Monday, November 21, 2005 at 10:13 AM