Recommendation for a national standard for tactical emergency casualty care and Israeli hospital trauma protocols in the United States

Abstract

This research asks the following question: Why are tactical emergency casualty care (TECC) rescue task force (RTF) and Israeli hospital trauma programs the best approaches to addressing the current gaps and weaknesses in trauma management in the United States in the context of terrorist attacks and/or active shooter incidents? The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain why existing tactical emergency medical service protocols in most public safety jurisdictions are deficient and to analyze which types of resources jurisdictions need in order to ensure that they have optimal programs in place for mass casualty incident response. Active shooter and terrorist attacks have been on the rise since the 1990s. This thesis found that most public safety organizations in the United States are unprepared to provide emergency medical services during these incidents. Provision of tactical emergency medical services in hostile environments require that emergency medical services personnel train and deploy using TECC RTF guidelines and the Israeli hospital paradigm. This thesis recommends the implementation of a national standard to ensure that these programs are instituted in jurisdictions across the United States.