Michael Schaub EXECUTIVE SUMMARY At the OxyContin launch party in the mid-1990s, Richard Sackler, a member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, stepped up to the podium to address the audience. Sackler, then senior vice president for sales, proclaimed that the launch party would be “followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury…
Public Health and Safety
Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Automated External Defibrillator Delivery in the Seattle King County Region following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Aaron Tyerman EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to deliver a shock to a cardiac arrest patient before the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) increases the chance of the patient’s survival. Studies both within the United States and abroad have explored using unmanned aerial systems (UASs, also known as drones) to deliver…
I Am the Dragoman: EMS Translations and Boundary Objects in National Preparedness
James Robinson EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I have worked in emergency medical services (EMS) for nearly thirty years; from working on an emergency ambulance, to leading an EMS agency, developing local, regional, state and national EMS policy, and applying it in the real world. I have developed a breadth and depth of experience in and knowledge of…
Prospective Vigilance: Assessing Complex Coordinated Attack Preparedness Programs
Jared Goff EXECUTIVE SUMMARY State and local first responders in the United States lack a common strategic approach to preparing for complex coordinated attacks (CCAs).[1] Scholarly research, analysis, and shared best practices are important pillars to help first responders become better prepared and resilient, yet these components are mostly absent from the CCA narrative. Inconsistent…
Police Self-Deployment at Critical Incidents: A Wicked Problem or a Part of the Solution?
Anna Brookes EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Police self-deployment refers generally to the unauthorized response of officers to critical incidents. However, existing literature provides no comprehensive definition and is confined to descriptive narratives in after-action reports. If the results of police self-deployment to an incident are undesirable or harmful, self-deployment is condemned. Conversely, if police respond to an…
Bridging the Gap: To What Extent Do Socioeconomic Barriers Impede Response to Emerging Public Health Threats?
Don Neuert EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The basis for this thesis and research topic stems from certain local and state Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant activities—managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—focused on jurisdictions’ ability to dispense life-saving medications and medical supplies to 100 percent of an impacted population within 48 hours of a…
Next Generation 9-1-1: Policy Implications of Incident Related Imagery on the Public Safety Answering Point
Jeremy DeMar EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With NG911 systems, callers will be able to send text messages and transmit photos, videos, and other forms of data to 9-1-1 centers, and call takers will be able to better coordinate responses. For example, a caller could send streaming video from a crime scene, or personal medical data about a…
Fracking: Unintended consequences for local communities
Chad Stangeland EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After a rise in the global market price of oil and decades-long U.S. reliance on imported oil to meet demands, advancements occurred in the extraction of shale oil. The combination of improvements in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, and the ability to bore wells horizontally created a boom in the…
The Drone Court and Due Process
Sheree McManus EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. Congress passed the Authorized Use of Military Force (AUMF), which established the authority of the president to use “all necessary and appropriate force” to protect the United States from threats against the homeland.[1] The implementation of the AUMF broadened the president’s authority to use…
Tuberculosis Anywhere is Tuberculosis Everywhere – The Intersection of Immigration Enforcement Policy and Tuberculosis
Reed Little EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROBLEM STATEMENT Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant health issue to both the general public and the officers who enforce our nation’s immigration laws. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2014 there were 9,241 cases of TB reported in the United States, and America spent $435 million…