supporting psychosocial response to radiological incidents : the role of family assistance centers...
TRANSCRIPT
Supporting Psychosocial Response to Radiological Incidents :
The Role of Family Assistance Centers
Onora Lien, MAHealth Systems Response PlannerKing County Healthcare Coalition
Public Health – Seattle & King County
Overview
Overview of Family Assistance CentersPlanning recommendationsUnique aspects of radiological incidents
Family Assistance
Family Assistance is: Information and support
(mental health, spiritual care, human needs, crime victims assistance) provided to families/loved ones/survivors of the injured and deceased
Reunification of family members with their missing or deceased loved ones
Family Assistance Centers
Established during mass casualty or mass fatality incidents A centralized location where loved ones will gather to gain
information and assistance Provides a safe and secure reception place for family and
friends of victims Could have more virtual/telephonic component
Helps facilitate coordinated information-sharing between families and officials/response agencies (e.g. ME/C, LE, ARC)
Best practice in an emergency/disaster response Legislated in some incidents Differs from Disaster Assistance/Disaster Services Centers
FAC Activities
Information sharing on missing/deceased loved ones Coordination on missing persons, patient tracking, victim
identifications, other reunification efforts Briefings related to response and recovery efforts Information on identification processes Collecting antemortem information to assist with identification Notifications (about location or confirmed death) Call center
Mental health and spiritual care support Immediate human needs assistance
First aid, food, shelter
FAC Activities
Coordinating family tour of incident site After death support activities
Personal effects return, human remains release, death certificate or funeral support
Legal, financial, other social services
Supporting Behavioral Health
Those being served at FAC are population of concern for being at risk for developing psychiatric disorders or dysfunction post incident Traumatic loss Separation from loved one
Functions of FAC may serve to help mitigate some stressors post disaster Provides forum for timely information sharing and meeting
immediate needs Helps to facilitate reunification with loved ones Availability of mental health and spiritual care support
Important to incorporate robust triage and assessment capabilities as a part of FAC operations and strategically allocate available mental health and spiritual care resources
Initial Planning Considerations
Lead agency and response partners Core functions for FAC Protocol/process for coordinating missing/unaccounted for
persons reports Coordination with Law Enforcement Coordination with hospitals/patient tracking Coordination with ARC or other family reunification activities
Integration with behavioral health response activities Triage, assessment, referral and ongoing support
Protocol for collecting antemortem information/conducting family interviews
It takes a team…
Potential Planning Partners: Local Health Department Social/Human Services Mental Health Coroner/Medical Examiner Law Enforcement and/or FBI Hospitals/Healthcare Emergency Management Chaplains/Spiritual Care providers American Red Cross/Salvation
Army/voluntary agencies Social/Human Services Interpreters/Translators
Public Information Officers Office of Victims of Crime FEMA NDMS/DMORT Department of State NTSB Relevant private
sector/corporate partners
Challenges during Radiological Incidents
Nature of radiological incident heightens public concern and anxiety May add to psychological stress Information sharing challenges Heightened media interest Possible criminal nature of incident
Response, recovery and victim identification may be delayed Need for coordination with evacuation, decontamination,
screening activities How do you coordinate or integrate Family Assistance Center
operations with Community Reception Center activities?
Family Assistance During Disasters
Supporting victims’ families is a critical component of overall response It is essential to facilitating overall community resilience
and recovery Flexibility and adaptability is key!
“You can’t fix it, you can’t make it better, but you can provide one positive memory to carry with them out of this horrible experience.” – Kathryn Turman, Director of FBI Office of
Victim Assistance