Beyond beds: The imperative for kinetic surge capacity in modern mass casualty response

For decades, the global metric for health system disaster readiness has been the "bed." Preparedness is quantified in static integers: Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity, ventilator stockpiles, and surgeon-to-population ratios. This "inventory approach" assumes that a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) is merely a volume problem. However, the epidemiological reality of modern disasters—from ballistic trauma to seismic crush injuries—demonstrates that survival is not a function of volume, but of velocity.