American Burn Association

The American Burn Association, U.S. burn centers, and government agencies have written a plan to respond to these types of events and are continuing to prepare the nation s health care system. 

List the American Burn Association criteria for referring a patient to a burn center. 

Physicians and nurses at these faciiities must have an understanding of initiai burn management and understand when referrai to a regionai or state designated burn center is appropriate. The ABA burn center referrai criteria are found at the end of this chapter (American Burn Association, 2005a). 

Burn patients are usually awake and alert after they have been injured. If there is an alteration in mental status, consider the following associated traumatic injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, hypoxia, or preexisting medical conditions (American Burn Association, 2005a). 

American Burn Association. (2005a). Advanced bum life support provider manual. Chicago American Burn Association. 

American Burn Association. (2005b). Fire safe cigarette legislative update. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from http //www. ameriburn.org/Fire-safecigarettes.pdf... 

American Burn Association Board of Trustees and the Committee on Organization and Delivery of Burn Care. (2005). Disaster Management and the ABA Plan, 26(2), 102-106. 

The American Burn Association Has the Capacity to Be a Key Component in National Disaster Readiness for Mass Burn Casualties. The ABA responded within hours to national and state agencies with burn resource information following the 9/11 tragedies and on an ongoing basis during preparations for the war in Iraq. 

It should be noted that in the preparations for the Iraq war, there was considerable inaccurate information on burn bed availability through this system. The American Burn Association Central Office worked directly with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research to provide much more accurate and timely burn bed availability information. 

In addition to greater interaction between the American Burn Association and HHS, the Department of Homeland Security, NDMS, and U.S. Institute of Surgical Research, the following are a number of specific action items that will be taken to enhance overall mass burn casualty disaster preparedness at the national, regional, and local level. 

American Burn Association. (2005). Advanced Bum Life Support Course provider manual. Chicago Author. 

American Burn Association. Burn incidence and treatment in the United States 2011 fact sheet. http //www.ameriburn.org/resources factsheet.php. Accessed 24 Apr 2011. 

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