MASCAL

Abstract

Mass casualty incidents can be a seemingly overwhelming event for any sized medical treatment facility. Adhering to several principles of wartime trauma care and several major organizational structural design elements for the facility can make even an overwhelming situation much more manageable. Recognizing and following a single mission for the unit, training the personnel to deliver efficient trauma care, and understanding the principles of patient movement are three main pillars of effective mass casualty management. Likewise, piecing together the basic principles of organizational structure such as identifying the most appropriate triage officer, identifying the locations of the different triage areas, and understanding the roles of the command team will improve the organization and flow of the event and improve survival.