Web Exclusive: H1N1 Flu Scare Provides Practice for Pandemic Operations

For many healthcare workers who rose to the call of the recent H1N1 flu outbreak, the early, frightening weeks of encountering a new and potentially deadly virus proved an opportunity to test emergency plans that had been set up in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and other disasters. Read more »

Hospitals Better Ready for Disasters

U.S. hospitals are better prepared for disasters and public health emergencies than they were in 2001, according to a new study by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Biosecurity. The biggest gains have been made in hospitals’ ability to accommodate patients during disasters, train staff for disasters, and perform in actual disasters. Read more »

Older Adults Shown to Underreport Stroke History

The responses of older adults who are asked whether they had a stroke frequently do not agree with diagnoses obtained by magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, according to research by Columbia University Medical Center, New York, to be published in the July issue of Archives of Neurology. “Stroke is associated with motor impairment but can also be accompanied by impairments in memory, sensation, and speech or language, diminishing the ability of an individual to accurately report a history of stroke,” the study concluded. Read more »

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