What qualifies an event as a Mass Casualty Event (MCE)?

An event is classified as a Mass Casualty Event (MCE) when it involves a significant number of patients that exceeds the ability of the local emergency medical services to manage or provide adequate care. The designation of twenty or more patients is often recognized in emergency management and medical response frameworks as the threshold at which standard emergency operations may be severely overwhelmed.

When an incident involves twenty or more patients, it typically indicates a situation that requires additional resources, coordination, and potentially the activation of a mass casualty response plan. This level of patient involvement necessitates immediate action to triage patients effectively and deploy extraneous medical resources to ensure that those affected receive the care they need.

Establishing the threshold for a mass casualty event at this level ensures that emergency services are adequately prepared to respond to scenarios that significantly challenge their capabilities, thus enhancing patient outcomes in critical situations.