Necessary Emergency Interventions: The Boston Marathon

The most important aspect in managing a disaster situation is preparedness. The simulation Disaster in Franklin County highlights the role of public health personnel, with emphasis on the public health nurse because the nurse is often a first responder to such a disaster. This helps to examine the roles, actions, coping methods, and techniques used by a nurse in a disaster scenario.

Tragic events that cause damage to property and life may destroy the social, cultural and economic life of a community. Communities must be engaged in the various phases from prevention to recovery to build disaster resilient communities. In order to do this, there must be a disaster preparedness plan in place that involves multiple people in various roles.

In day to day operations, uncertainties do occur. Henceforth it would be important to have a contingent and well detailed disaster preparedness plan and procedures. Healthcare systems, on a day to day basis, are faced with emergencies in form of disasters. As a result, majority of medical centers have well-structured exit plans in the event of a disaster occurring("Hospital Disaster Preparedness: Your Guide to Getting Started - Emergency Preparedness", 2011). However, this essay will aim at interviewing one of the top disaster preparedness staffat the Houston Methodist Hospital. In the interview, I will seek to identify the top three disasters that the Houston Methodist Hospital is prepared for. Similarly, in the interview, I would seek to identify the top lessons learnt from disaster preparedness at the hospitals.As it concludes it would summarize the findings with regards to the interview stated below. Below is an excerpt from the interview to answer the two aforementioned questions.

On April 15, 2013 during the Boston Marathon in Copley Square, two bombs exploded near the finish line killing at least three and injuring over 170 people. This bombing sent the nation in an uproar and it was immediately recognized as a terrorist attack. When the Federal Bureau of Investigation took over, a few days later a surveillance video and photographs of the two suspects were released.

The Boston Marathon Bombing was one of the worst catastrophes to hit Boston since the Boston Massacre in 1770, as well as the United States since the World Trade Center was struck. The Boston Marathon Bombing happened at 2:49pm EDT on April 15, 2013 with 3 U.S. citizens dying in the initial bombing on April 15, one police officer from a shooting on April 18, and one suspect from a shooting on April 19. The bombing left hundreds injured and had an impact felt throughout the country.

Within seconds of the clock striking 2:49 p.m, a bomb goes off in front of Marathon Sports store near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing one and wounding a number of others, both runners and spectators. Less than a minute later, another bomb lets off in front of the Forum restaurant, killing two more and injuring many more(CNN). As chaos began to erupt, Boston PD sprang into action immediately. Despite their efforts, the bomber who was at the time unknown, had already escaped the scene. Within minutes of the explosion, the event is now being acknowledged at the national level, suspected of being the first act of foreign terrorism since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin

This chapter provides an overview that describes the basic types of hazards threatening the United States and provides definitions for some basic terms such as hazards, emergencies, and disasters. The chapter also provides a brief history of emergency management in the federal government and a general description of the current emergency management system—including the basic functions performed by local emergency managers. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the all-hazards approach and its implications for local emergency management.

During the iconic Boston Marathon two bombs went off. Thankfully about 3 quarters of the participants had already crossed. Public officials reported that 17 people were in critical condition, 140+ injured, and three dead including an 8-year-old boy. The two bombs were set fairly close to the finish line roughly 100 yards apart. According to the timers the bombs occurred 12 seconds apart.

The bombing of the Boston Marathon is one of the least deadly terrorist attacks against our county, but has brought to light many lessons that need to be learned. The Boston Marathon Bombing took place on April 15, 2013 at 1449 hours. Two men planted bombs near the finish line of the event which killed three spectators and wounded 260 others. The bombs were pressure cooker bombs packed with shrapnel and other materials hidden in backpacks that were maliciously placed amidst the crowd (History.com Staff, 2014).

This event happened on April 15, 2013 in Boston Massachusetts. Two brothers by the names of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev decided to place two pressure cooker bombs amidst the crowd of marathon runners. Only two seconds apart, the two bombs went off along the finish line on Boylston Street. Leading up to the event there was the conflict in the middle east, which is where both the brothers were born, and they wanted a way to get back at the United States. There was no anticipation to this event because there hadn’t been any sort of threat or previous attack on this

Whether or not information was shared on the brothers, the larger question remained: why did the brothers radicalize and kill and injure scores of people who were attending the Boston Marathon? Those who make the leap towards terrorism experience varying levels of, anger, passion, or frustration in support of their beliefs. In recent years, rising expectations, fueled by images of affluence and democracy spread by the mass media have provoked feelings of deprivation among many populations, particularly in Africa, Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe. Individuals who become terrorists oftentimes do so because they feel unheard, insignificant, unheard, or not important. Still others follow a cause or group that is misguided and can lead to violent

Millions of people die every day, however only a handful unexpectedly sacrifice. The wind whispered a brisk temperature of forty-eight degrees fahrenheit around nine in the morning while the daylight attempted to break through the clouds. Today is April 15, 2013; today is the 117th Boston Marathon. Taken place on the famous, Boylston Street in Boston, where more than 24,000 runners participated in this event, eagerly ready to perform in front of their friends, their family, the world, however, not everyone had a chance to finish. Approximately two hours after the winner crossed the finish line, terror commenced. The first bomb detonated outside Marathon Sports at 2:49 pm, followed by a second bomb, one block away, approximately 13 seconds after. Within these explosions, chaos erupted with people running away from the commotion, human beings started to trample on each other only to survive another day. Shrapnel, nails, and glass shattered in all directions until finding their home in a child’s limbs. Death and destruction suddenly became the

On April 15, 2013, more than 23,000 runners sprinted off from the starting line of the Boston Marathon, and thousands more watched this enormous event held on Patriot’s Day (“Boston Marathon Bombing”). The marathon is held to commemorate 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord and is the oldest continuously ran marathon in the world (History.com Staff) (Duke). Little did they know two brothers were planting to pressure cooker bombs a short distance from the finish line (“Boston Marathon Bombing”). At 2:49pm, only five ours into the race, the first bomb explodes with 5,600 runners still in the race (“Boston Marathon Bombing”) (History.com Staff). Fifteen seconds later the second bomb burst only 600 feet from the first one

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

Over the past few decades, the significance, magnitude and consequence of risk management and communication have been brought before the world over and over again in a number of situations related to health, terrorist activities, natural disasters etc. When one turns the pages of history, it is rather obvious that lack of planning and absence of resources due to unpreparedness makes it difficult for the concerned authorities to manage an emergency or epidemic a problematic and traumatic task. The chaotic situations can turn out to be more nerve-racking and tense when preparations are not made before hand (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2002).