Communities disaster planning

Children are likely to be victims in natural disasters and public health emergencies. Health care professionals must be prepared to care for children in the prehospital, inpatient, and follow-up phases of disaster care. Children may experience long-term physical and psychosocial sequelae following a disaster appropriate follow-up will be indicated. Nurses and health care professionals must place a high priority on the needs of children in disasters or public health emergencies and incorporate these needs into their hospital and community disaster plans. 

Advance warning systems and the use of evacuation from areas of danger save lives and should be included in community disaster response plans whenever appropriate. Warnings can now be made months in advance, in the case of El Nino, to seconds in advance of the arrival of earthquake waves at some distance from the earthquake. Computers are being programmed to respond to warnings automatically, shutting down... 

Disaster planning must include a community mutual aid plan in the event that the hospital (s), nursing home(s), or other residential health care facility needs to be evacuated. Plans for evacuation of health care facilities must be realistic and achievable, and contain sufficient specific detail as to where patients will be relocated to and who will be there to care for them. Patient evacuation was a major challenge to disaster response efforts following Hurricane Katrina, and was hampered by the destruction of all major transportation routes in and out of the city. Pre-planning for the possibility of the need to evacuate entire health care facilities must address alternative modes of transportation and include adequate security measures (see Figure 1.4). 

Resource identification is an essential feature of disaster planning. A community s capacity to withstand a disaster is directly related to the type and scope of resources available, the presence of adequate communication systems, the structural integrity of its buildings and utilities (e.g., water, electricity), and the size and sophistication of its health care system (Cuny, 1998 ... 

The Southport County Health Department is holding a planning meeting with key public health officials and health care clinicians to address disaster preparedness. Southport is a town of 28,000 in northwest Montana and has experienced five blizzards and one flood in the past 3 years. Using the five focus areas of disaster planning, construct a disaster response plan for this community. 

RESOLVED, that the NSNA promote student involvement in community disaster response planning, implementation, and evaluation, and the collection and distribution of donations and be it further... 

Emergency health services (EHS) constitutes a critical element of the medical response to disasters and their planning is a key component of community disaster preparedness. This chapter reviews the characteristics of... 

The American Red Cross Disaster Services mission is to ensure nationwide disaster planning, preparedness, community disaster education, mitigation, and response that will provide the American people with quality services in a uniform, consistent, and responsive manner. The Red Cross responds to all types of natural disasters and any situation that causes human suffering or creates human needs that those afflicted cannot alleviate or survive without assistance. Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting the individual s or family s immediate disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens... 

Evaluation Often this phase of disaster planning and response receives the least attention. After a disaster, employees and the community are anxious to return to usual operations. It is essential that a formal evaluation be done to determine what went well (what really worked) and what problems were identified. A specific individual should be charged with the evaluation and follow-through activities. 

A 5- to 6-day supply of water (5 gallons per person) should be stored for food preparation and personal hygiene, as part of essential disaster planning in communities at high risk for a natural disaster. Stored water should be changed every 6 months. Cloudy water or any water with a fetid odor should be discarded immediately. 

Encourage incorporation into the hospital-specific disaster plan of ABA-recommended triage plan for burn casualty mass disaster situations and provide outpatient care for nonintubated patients with burns covering <20% TBSA also, address issues of communication with families, psychological support needs, and media control. 

Children may be separated from their parents and family members if they are deemed to be contagious. If children are quarantined, parents may not be able to visit. Young children may experience separation anxiety and they may not respond to staff members. Nurses and health care professionals must be able to distinguish separation anxiety and fear of abandonment from a worsening neurologic status. Children who are quarantined require extra staff for their care because they cannot care for themselves, and their health condition must be closely monitored. Plans for the care of quarantined children and families must be included in community and hospital disaster planning. 

Select one Web-based resource listed in this chapter. Log on to the Web site and obtain pediatric-related disaster information. How can this information be applied to one s own hospital or community disaster preparedness plans ... 

---