Who’s Coming to Work During a Bioevent?

Staffing is a key component of surge capacity for an effective response to a mass casualty incident. Researchers anonymously surveyed a convenience sample of 186 emergency workers (physicians, nurses, emergency medical services personnel, and support staff) in Rochester, New York, about their willingness to report to the hospital during two hypothetical mass casualty scenarios: release of a nontransmissible biologic agent with proven treatment and release of a transmissible biologic agent with no treatment.

Of 180 respondents, almost 80% would report to work if the nature of the incident were unknown, and almost 40% would report for an event involving a transmissible agent. For an event with an identified agent, if effective treatment were o…