preparing for emergencies
TRANSCRIPT
Emergency Preparedness
Emergency preparedness is the “comprehensive skills, abilities, knowledge, and actions that are needed to respond and prepare for a threat, actual or suspected, chemical, radiological, nuclear, biological, or explosive in nature” (Baack & Alfred, 2013, p. 282).
Types of Emergencies
• Natural Disasters – any disaster not man-made, including health disasters
Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires
Health disasters: AIDS, Ebola virus, epidemics, pandemics
• Man-made disasters – accidental or intentional
Accidental: industrial accidents, structural collapse, power outages
Intentional: terrorist attacks, mass shootings, anthrax
(Sullivan, 2013)
Levels of Disaster
• Level I – Local response
• Level II – Regional response
• Level III – Statewide or National response(Sullivan, 2013)
Where does healthcare fit in?
“The healthcare system is now viewed as a foundation of national security that must provide care anytime,
anywhere, without fail and in an ever-expanding role” (Cagliuso, 2014/2015, p. 160).
Popular Disasters
• September 11, 2001
• Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami 2004
• Hurricane Katrina 2005
• Haiti Earthquake 2010
• Sandy Hook Elementary School 2012
• Ebola 2014
The Role of Nursing During Disaster
• Caring for the sick and injured
• Infection control
• Planning to prevent further damage
• Triage
• Mass immunizations
• Mass evacuations
• Treatment for mass casualties( Baack & Alfred, 2013, p. 282)
Challenges for Nurses
• Lack of preparation
• Lack of education in school
• Lack of understanding disaster communication methods
• Lack of understanding the formal disaster plan
• Perception of what constitutes disaster preparedness( Baack & Alfred, 2013, p. 282)
Disasters can affect nurses in all areas of care: Community Health Centers, Schools, Hospitals, Nursing
Homes, Home Care, Management and Administration
Challenges to Institutions
• Lack of performance metrics
• Lack of funding
• Limited surge capacity
• Unclear federal guidelines and requirements for accreditation
• Lack of Coordination
(Cagliuso, 2014/2015, p. 156)
Ways to Prepare
• Develop and maintain a current disaster plan (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2014).
• Focus the plan to address “likely” events (ACHE, 2014).
• Develop a command system (ACHE, 2014).
• Assess available resources (ACHE, 2014).
• Plan for operations (ACHE, 2014).
• Develop resource protocols (ACHE, 2014).
• Assess safety of employees, patients, and families (ACHE, 2014).
• Enhance communication protocols (ACHE, 2014).
• Control and report disease (ACHE, 2014).
• Staff education and training (Sullivan, 2013).
• Practice EOP biannually (Sullivan, 2013).
Emergency Operations Plan Components
• Activation response
• Communication plan
• Patient care and coordination plan
• Security plan
• Traffic flow plan
• Data management strategy
• Resource availability
(Sullivan, 2013)
National Preparedness Goal• Prevention. Prevent, avoid or stop an imminent, threatened or actual act of terrorism.
• Protection. Protect our citizens, residents, visitors, and assets against the greatest threats and hazards in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive.
• Mitigation. Reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters.
• Response. Respond quickly to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic incident.
• Recovery. Recover through a focus on the timely restoration, strengthening and revitalization of infrastructure, housing and a sustainable economy, as well as the health, social, cultural, historic and environmental fabric of communities affected by a catastrophic incident
(Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2015, para. 7)
Factors Affecting Nurses
• Exhaustion and fatigue
• Personal safety concerns
• Illness
• Leaving families to care for others
• Grief counseling
• Professional accountability(Sullivan, 2013)
Additional Resources
• American Nurses Association Disaster Prepared-ness and Response: http://www.nursingworld.org/ MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/DPR
• Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Government: http://www.fema.gov/ International Council of Nurses Disaster Response Network: http://www.icn.ch/networks/disaster-response-network/
• International Nursing Coalition for Mass Ca-sualty Education Educational Competencies for Registered Nurses Responding to Mass Ca-sualty Incidents: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ leading-initiatives/education-resources/INCMCECompetencies.pdf
• The Joint Commission: www.jointcommission.org/ standards
• National Center for Emergency Preparedness: http://www.ncep.vanderbilt.edu/index.html
• World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine Nursing Section: http://www.wadem.org/nursing.html
References
• American College of Healthcare Executives. (2014). Healthcare executives’ role in emergency preparedness. Healthcare Executive, 29(4), 90-91. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com/
• Baack, S., & Alfred, D. (2013). Nurses’ preparedness and perceived competence in managing disasters. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 45(3), 281-287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12029
• Cagliuso, N. (2014/2015). Stakeholders’ experiences with US hospital emergency preparedness: Part 1. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 8(2), 156-168. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com/
• Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2015). National preparedness goal. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/
• Feuerstein, C. (2012, November 6). Disaster nursing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/W-S2BXTPKHs
• Sullivan, E. J. (2013). Effective leadership and management in nursing (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.