EARLY in 1954 a survey of the Emergency Suite at Hartford Hospital was undertaken by a special joint committee of the medical and surgical staff and the administration. The action was prompted by rising apprehensions about the adequacy of physical facilities and supervision of the clinical work performed in the emergency unit. There was also a recognition of the need for the hospital to undertake a revision of its disaster plan and of the fact that the Emergency Room could well serve as a triage center in the event of a catastrophe. At the same time, problems had been presented . . .