• David J Barillo, Leopoldo C Cancio, Richard S Stack, Shamus R Carr, Kristine P Broger, David M Crews, Evan M Renz, and Lorne H Blackbourne.
• US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas, USA.
• Am J Disaster Med. 2010 Jan 1; 5 (1): 5-13.

AbstractIn many hospitals, intensive care units (ICUs) operate at or above capacity on a daily basis. Multiple casualty incidents will create a sudden need for additional ICU beds and hospital planning for disaster response must anticipate the need for rapid ICU expansion. In this article, the authors describe the management of 6 patients who were burned in Guam and successfully transported a distance of 7,268 miles to San Antonio, TX, for tertiary burn center care. The mission required creation of a temporary burn ICU at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, approximately midway between the referring hospital and the receiving burn center. A method of creating a temporary burn center is described. Lessons learned, including the need to standardize equipment, and to cross-train and cross-credential medical personnel, are applicable to both military and civilian mass casualty management.

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