Summary: New Orleans hosts over 130 special events annually, with a few standing out as large-scale and nationally recognized, including two nationally ranked events, which are closely matched in success by the Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) system. The Super Bowl is a SEAR 1 event (the highest ranking of special event with national importance), and Mardi Gras is a SEAR 2 event within a week of one another. That is why New Orleans emergency medical services (NOEMS) started planning early. Planning for these events began a year in advance. It included, but was not limited to: regional EMS collaboration and coordination, training and education, event operation plans, and updating multiple inter- and intra-agency plans. Prehospital multi-event medical planning cannot be done in a silo; meetings included mutual aid EMS agencies, health departments, emergency management offices, and regional hospitals, among others. This prehospital coordination group met multiple times, leading up to the events. It worked on updating active shooter plans, Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) plans, MCI transportation plans, mass fatality plans, and family reunification plans. By meeting in the lead-up to these events, personnel can build relationships, allowing for greater ease of communication during the event or any incidents. Ideally, these plans and training will never be needed. For the small percentage of time when such plans need to be implemented, all the pre-event coordination can make a huge difference in response time and response effectiveness.
Shayna Goldfine (Sun,) studied this question.