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One method of dealing with healthcare crises arising from disasters such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina is to expand existing healthcare capacity at or near the affected site. However, in the U.S., most emergency departments and trauma centers operate above capacity on a daily basis. These authors describe their experiences with a provisional medical care facility that was set up in Dallas, Texas, 3 days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast.
From September 1 to September 16, 2005, the Dallas Convention Center was transformed into an urgent care center. Emergency medicine leaders developed a personnel command and management structure, and equipment and supplies were provided by other in…