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We are pleased to announce the recent publication and availability of a special edition of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness sponsored by PACER. The special issue is exclusively devoted to articles and original research from PACER investigators examining the science behind hospital emergency preparedness.

The entire special edition, including original research and critical analysis, articles and editorials, can be accessed online at www.dmphp.org/content/vol3/Supplement_1.The special issue, titled Developing the Science of Health Care Emergency Preparedness and Response, was supported in part by a grant from the National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Critical Event Response at Johns Hopkins University www.pacercenter.org and in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality www.ahrq.gov. PACER is a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence.

Original research and findings published in the supplemental edition of the quarterly journal include a study which found that hospital surge capacity can be significantly increased by early discharge of low-risk hospital patients; a pilot study which found that laboratory personnel, training and communication were not universal at sentinel laboratories for bioterrorism; a case study of response protocols for public health syndromic surveillance systems; and a study of unmet medical needs following the 2007 wildfires in California.

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is an official publication of the American Medical Association (AMA). According to the AMA, the publication is the first comprehensive and authoritative journal emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care and public health professionals globally.