Disaster Types
An event occurring within the healthcare facility that disrupts operations (e.g. fire, power outage).
Internal or External
What is an internal disaster?
Green-tagged patients are often directed to do this helpful activity while waiting for treatment in mass casualty incidents.
What is assist with other patients or "buddy care"?
This color tag is given to "walking wounded" patients and is used for patients who have minor injuries and can wait for treatment.
The area with contaminants present
What is the "hot zone" in decontamination?
In the START triage system, this is the first assessment you perform to determine patient priority.
What is the ability to walk/mobility?
This potentially life-threatening condition occurs when body temperature drops below 95°F (35°C).
What is hypothermia?
This team is focused on assessing patients
What is triage?
Natural disasters (earthquake, hurricane) or human-caused (terrorism, mass shootings).
Internal or external?
What is an external disaster?
In the START triage system, an unresponsive patient who isn't breathing after you open their airway receives this tag color.
What is black?
This is the color tag given to a patient who is deceased or expected to die with limited resources.
The zone that healthcare workers perform decontamination procedures in.
What is the warm zone?
Patients tagged with this color in mass casualty triage are classified as "expectant" and receive comfort measures only.
What is Black?
This is the most common and earliest symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning.
What is headache?
This team is focused on stabilizing patients and providing care
What is treatment?
The first responder on scene should take on this role.
What is Incident Commander?
This color triage tag indicates a patient needs immediate life-saving interventions.
What is a red tag?
Example: Given to a patient with open fractures & weak pulse.
Two decontamination steps for chemical exposure
What are remove clothing and rinse skin thoroughly?
In mass casualty triage, a respiratory rate greater than this number would classify an adult patient as immediate (red) priority.
What is 30 breaths per minute?
This environmental emergency presents with symptoms of confusion, hot dry skin, and core temperature above 104°F (40°C).
What is heat stroke?
This team is focused on sending patients for care
What is transport?
Multi-casualty can be managed by local resources; mass casualty overwhelms them.
What is the difference between multi-casualty and mass casualty events?
The first two things you assess in START triage
What are respirations and pulse (perfusion)?
Equipment used to protect first responders
What is PPE?
This version of triage is specifically for children.
What is JumpSTART?
This winter emergency causes more deaths annually in the U.S. than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined.
What is hypothermia?
This team is focused on organizing patients and equipment at the scene
What is staging?
A standardized approach to emergency response ensuring coordination and efficiency.
What is the Incident Command System (ICS)?
A patient who has good respirations and a wound with controlled bleeding gets this color tag.
What is yellow?
The minimum amount of time needed to flush away chemicals
What is 20 minutes?
In a chemical mass casualty incident, patients should ideally undergo this process before entering the treatment area.
What is decontamination?
In radiation emergencies, this time-based principle guides safe exposure limits for first responders.
What is time/distance/shielding or the inverse square law?
This team is focused on providing dignity to the dead
What is the morgue?