Letters to CEO and Preparedness Coord.

[Date]

Dear [Hospital CEO],

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention (DUIP) is conducting a survey of hospitals to determine current capacities and preparedness levels for bombings and mass casualty incidents (MCI). Current patterns in terrorist activity increase potential for civilian casualties from explosions. Such incidents can result in an increased surge of injured patients that may overwhelm nearby hospitals and limit their ability to care for the critically injured. Considering that US hospitals and healthcare providers have minimal experience in dealing with increased surge of patients with explosion-related injuries, this survey is an important tool to assess readiness and capacity of hospitals to respond to such incidents.

We would like to invite your facility to participate in the formative phase of this critical study. The results of this survey will be used to identify strengths and weaknesses in hospitals’ capacities to respond to bombing events and MCIs at the national level and inform future initiatives to improve hospital emergency planning and preparedness efforts for a surge of injured patients. Your facility was randomly selected to participate from a large sample of institutions to ensure a broad representation of pediatric and adult trauma (Level I-IV) as well as non-trauma hospitals across the US.

Specifically, CDC would like to invite your facility’s emergency preparedness manager to participate in the web-based survey. The questionnaire includes 109 questions divided into four sections 1) hospital profile and current resources; 2) emergency preparedness and hospital response; 3) trainings and exercises; and 4) critical preparedness elements from bombings and MCIs. All information that you provide will be kept private to the extent allowed by law. Responses will be reported in summary form only along with information from the other facilities that participate in the survey. No personal or specific facility identifiers will be included in either oral or written presentation of the study results. Participation in the pilot study is voluntary and your facility is not subject to any penalty if you choose not to provide all or any part of the requested information. The authorizing law for data collection is Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241).

In the following week, Dena Elimam from SciMetrika, the public health research company that will conduct this assessment will follow up with your facility to confirm whether you will be participating in this study. Should you decide to participate, SciMetrika will work with you to provide you with access to the survey’s web-platform. If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or the interview process, please contact Lisa Garbarino at 770-488-1496 or [email protected].

Thank you and we look forward to hearing your response soon.

Sincerely,

Mark Faul, PhD, MA

Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Date]

Dear [Hospital Emergency Preparedness Coordinator/Manager],

Thank you for your agreement to participate in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention (DUIP)’s survey on hospitals’ preparedness for bombings and mass casualty incidents. We truly appreciate your taking the time to participate in this important study and your valuable input.

As indicated in previous communication, the questionnaire includes 133 questions divided into four sections 1) hospital profile and current resources; 2) emergency preparedness and hospital response; 3) trainings and exercises; and 4) critical preparedness elements from bombings and MCIs. The web-based platform will allow to complete the questionnaire over multiple sessions if needed. The survey can be accessed via the following link (web-link address). Your username is (xxxxxxx) and your password is (xxxxxxx). Additional instructions on how to complete the survey is provided upon accessing the questionnaire’s website.

We would like to stress that all information that you provide will be kept private to the extent allowed by law. Responses will be reported in summary form only along with information from the other facilities that participate in the survey. No personal or specific facility identifiers will be included in either oral or written presentation of the study results. Participation in the study is voluntary and your facility is not subject to any penalty if you choose not to provide all or any part of the requested information and there is no penalty regardless of the answers you do give, that is, no repercussions for the facility or the manager (e.g. job concerns) completing the survey. The authorizing law for data collection is Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241).

Should you have any issues accessing the survey, please contact Russ Foushee at [email protected] or 919-354-5272. If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or the data collection process, please contact Lisa Garbarino at 770-488-1496 or [email protected].

Thank you and we look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Mark Faul, PhD, MA

Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention