1. 1. Preparing for Emergencies Kristin Botzer
2. 2. 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 (Slepski as cited in Baack & Alfred, 2013, p. 282).
3. 3. 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)
4. 4. 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).
5. 5. Popular Disasters September 11, 2001 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami 2004 Hurricane Katrina 2005 Haiti Earthquake 2010 Sandy Hook Elementary School 2012 Ebola 2014
6. 6. 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)
7. 7. 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
8. 8. 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)
9. 9. 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).
10. 10. 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)
11. 11. National Preparedness Goal Prevention. Protection. Mitigation. Response. Recovery. (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2015, para. 7)
12. 12. Factors Affecting Nurses Exhaustion and fatigue Personal safety concerns Illness Leaving families to care for others Professional accountability Grief counseling (Sullivan, 2013)
13. 13. Disaster Nursing Video
14. 14. Additional Resources American Nurses Association Disaster Preparedness 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 Casualty Education Educational Competencies for Registered Nurses Responding to Mass Casualty 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
15. 15. 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.