STUDY HYPOTHESIS Since the 1990s, Italian hospitals are required to comply with emergency disaster plans known as Emergency Plan for Massive Influx of Casualties. While various studies reveal that hospitals overall suffer from an insufficient preparedness level, the aim of this study was to better determine the preparedness level of Emergency Departments of Italian hospitals by assessing the kn...

As a nation, America is faced with the ongoing threat of terrorist activity from individuals and groups throughout the world and at home. In response to this reality, it is critical that steps be taken in the workplace to prevent acts of terrorism where possible, and be prepared to minimize adverse effects of terrorism that cannot be prevented. It is essential that traditional emergency prepare...

Study objective: To determine the effect of a symptom-based and a peak flow-based action plan in preventing acute exacerbations in subjects with poorly controlled asthma. Design: A randomized controlled trial in which subjects who had required urgent treatment for their asthma were allocated to receive no action plan, a symptom-based plan, or a peak flow-based action plan. Setting: A university...

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, thousands of ill and injured evacuees were transported to Houston, TX. Houston's regional disaster plan was quickly implemented, leading to the activation of the Regional Hospital Preparedness Council's Catastrophic Medical Operations Center and the rapid construction of a 65-examination-room medical facility within the Reliant Cent...

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, thousands of ill and injured evacuees were transported to Houston, TX. Houston's regional disaster plan was quickly implemented, leading to the activation of the Regional Hospital Preparedness Council's Catastrophic Medical Operations Center and the rapid construction of a 65-examination-room medical facility within the Reliant Cent...

My research goal is to continue to advance the state of the art in multi-agent reinforcement learning. There exist many real world examples of multi-agent domains that I plan to work with in the future, such as fire and emergency response in an wide scale emergency situation (such as an earthquake), vehicle routing and product delivery, passenger pickup, dropoff, and scheduling for taxis, and g...

An emergency response plan for industrial permit-required confined space entry is essential for employee safety and is legally required. Maintaining a trained confined space rescue team, however, is costly and technically challenging. Some employers turn to public fire departments to meet their emergency response requirements. The confined space emergency response practices of employers and fir...