The All Hazards Disaster Response (AHDR) course teaches students how to respond to the many types of disaster scenarios they may encounter, including natural disasters and infrastructure failings, fires and radiological events, pandemics, active shooter incidents, and other mass casualty events. AHDR educates participants on how to analyze potential threats in their area, assess available resources, and create a response plan that will save lives.

Features of a medical response plan covered in the course include:

• Communicating effectively during disasters.
• Mutual aid and interoperability.
• Managing resources such as supplies, medications and equipment.
• Triage and transportation strategies and challenges.
• Patient tracking and evacuation.

At the start of the course, participants conduct a “hazards vulnerability analysis” to assess features of their environment, both natural and man-made, that pose risk along with assessing the needs of vulnerable populations, such as assisted-living residents or hospital patients that need special consideration during such an event.