Disasters, planning for

Welcome and thanks go to Christopher Lentz, MD, FACS, FCCM Dixie Reid, PA Brooke Rea, MS, RN and Kerry Kehoe, MS (University of Rochester) for their chapter addressing the recognition and management of burns and guidelines for disaster planning for a surge of... 

The past events should not dampen the use of technology to solve the problems of the human race. Perhaps with greater foresight and a wider view of potential consequences, we would see fewer emergencies and disasters. Planning for emergencies should also lead to preventive actions so that emergencies are less likely to occur. 

Disaster Planning. Plant managers should recogni2e the possibiHty of natural and industrial emergencies and should oversee formulation of a plan of action in case of disaster. The plan should be weU documented and be made known to all personnel critical to its implementation. Practice fire and explosion drills should be carried out to make sure that all personnel, ie, employees, visitors, constmction workers, contractors, vendors, etc, are accounted for, and that the participants know what to do in a major emergency. 

Both emergeney and aeute, nonemergeney medieal treatment should be available at the worksite. The plan should be integrated with the overall site plan and the surrounding eommunity emergeney and disaster plan. In addition, input from and review by the oeeupational medieine physi-eian and health and safety personnel is invaluable for developing the medieal and emergeney preparedness portions of the plan. 

Vacations are difficult. We know going into it that the whole trip could be a disaster. We take precautions to try to ensure that there s as little toxicity as we can plan for. But we can never plan for all of it. 

In many locations around the world dams are essential for agriculture and urban water supply. While the benefits of these structures are obvious, the risk of damage or loss of life due to unexpected failure of the dam can be overlooked by the general populace. A systematic assessment of the hazards posed by possible dam failures is useful for disaster planning, emergency response, and flood warnings. 

The protocols and software developed in this study will give the Pacific Disaster Center tools that will enable it-and other agencies such as the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources and the U.S. National Weather Service-to conduct dam breach hazard assessments more easily. Results of these assessments are expected to be of value for disaster planning, emergency response, and flood warning. 

Alternative plans for system failure, disaster recovery, and unauthorized access must be developed. A problem-response system should provide controls in the event of a significant system failure. 

Alternative distribution in case both spouses are killed in a common disaster or something happens to a primary beneficiary. This is optional but a good idea to plan for in the unlikely event it might happen. 

The principles of disaster planning, the common tasks consistent across all disaster responses, and the key components of a disaster preparedness plan are introduced in this chapter. Definitions of the different types of disasters are provided, along with a classification system for disasters based on their common and unique features onset, duration, and effect (immediate aftermath) and reactive period. The concept of the disaster time line as an organizational framework for strategic planning is introduced. The five areas of focus in... 

In the United States, nurses constitute the largest sector of the health care workforce and will certainly be on the front lines of any emergency response. As part of the country s overall plan for disaster preparedness, all nurses must have a basic understanding of disaster science and the key components of disaster preparedness, including the following ... 

Develop evaluation plans for all components of Disaster Nursing Response. 

A plan for the use of the mass media for the purpose of disseminating public health messages in the postimpact phase in order to avoid health problems (e.g., water safety, food contamination) should be developed in advance. Nurses and other disaster responders may need training in how to interact effectively with the media. (See chapter 5 for further discussion.)... 

A comprehensive disaster plan will account for the effective triage of patients (prioritization for care and transport of patients) and distribution of patients to hospitals (a coordinated, even distribution of patients to several hospitals as opposed to delivering most of the patients to the closest hospital). Review of previous disaster response efforts reveals that patients are frequently... 

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). 

Core preparedness activities must go beyond the routine. Most disasters cannot be managed merely by mobilizing more equipment, personnel, and supplies. Disasters differ from routine daily emergencies, and they pose significant problems that have no counterpart in routine emergency responses. Many disaster-related issues and challenges have been identified in the disaster literature, and they can be anticipated and planned for (Auf der Heide, 2002). 

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