Hospital planning

Imagine that you ve been asked to write about your life-saving experience for the local hospital newsletter. You expect your audience to be adults, so you plan and draft your article in anticipation of that audience. But when you submit it, you find that the hospital plans to use your article in a supplement for elementary school students. Can they print it as written Not if they want their readers to understand what you ve written. 

ENA supports emergency nurses participation in planning a hospital response to a mass casualty incident. Emergency nurses are a critical element of a hospital planning effort due to their skills in triage and rapid prioritization of needs within a rapidly changing scenario. 

Chung, S., Shannon, M. (2005). Hospital planning for acts of terrorism and other public health emergencies involving children. Archives of Diseases in Children, 90, 1300-1307. 

Initial subcommittees formed included laboratory/ surveillance/infection control, community response plans, hospital plans, communications, pharmacy, and equipment/training. These committees appointed chairpersons and began monthly meetings to lay out plans to complete specific MMRS objectives. Later, mental health, media, and alternate care facility subcommittees were added to address specific agendas related to mental health care, media coordination, and alternate care sites. 

Significant accomplishments to date include the installation of decontamination capabilities at each of the 12 hospitals, decontamination and hazardous material overview training, drug and treatment reference cards for nuclear, biological, and chemical agents for both hospital and prehospital care providers, purchase of drugs to treat chemical agents, a plan for delivery and purchase of antibiotics, a hospital plan, a media plan, a mental health plan, and purchase of WMD equipment for law enforcement personnel. 

All hospital plans should include provisions for a proportionate response to the arrival of contaminated casualties, with procedures for rapid lock-down and establishing entry and exit restrictions. Most ambulance service plans already provide for sending an immediate alert to all hospitals designated to receive casualties whenever a major incident is declared. Although patients may have already self-evacuated before the emergency services arrive, ambulance plans should also provide for warning all... 

The building or buildings should be simple in style and designed to make a pleasing impression upon the patients.. . . Hospital planning demands the same careful thought that is the foundation of any modem successful business enterprise.. . . The hospital planner must seek to eliminate here all lost motion or unnecessary work. ... 

In a few simple statements, made in 1918, architect Edward F. Stevens has captured ideas that are still central today in hospital planning. While Stevens could not anticipate the enormous growth in medical knowledge, technique, and technology that would come to bear in the fullness of the twentieth century, his words have covered four important goals of hospital facility planning today ... 

Typically a symbol or icon used to represent health care or health insurance coverage plans. Sometimes also shown as or with a Blue Shield. The color blue is used since it has traditionally been associated as a symbol of healing or nurturing, and the cross is a religious symbol for protection. The Blue Cross is an independent, nonprofit, membership hospital plan. Benefits provided include coverage for hospitalization expenses subject to certain restrictions, outpatient services, and supplementary care such as nursing home care. See also Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Blue Shield Green Cross Red Cross. 

The LEPC ineludes eleeted state and loeal oflfieials. Besides eleeted offieials, the LEPC eould inelude poliee, fire, eivil defense, publie health, hospital, and transportation offieials, as well as environmental experts and faeility representatives. The LEPC requires the development of emergeney response plans. 

Does eontaet with loeal emergeney responders (i.e., fire and reseue, loeal hospital) and loeal, state, and Eederal ageneies indieate that the emergeney response plan is eompatible and integrated with the dis-... 

The plan must describe arrangements agreed to by local police departments, fire departments, hospitals, contractors, and state and local emergency response teams to coordinate emergency scr iccs... 

Instruct tire patient to avoid standing in one place for prolonged periods. This is rarely a problem in the hospital but should be included in the patient and family discharge teaching plan. 

Mr. Anthony is prescribed a cholinergic blocking drug for the treatment of peptic ulcer. In planning patient teaching for Mr. A nthony before dismissal from the hospital, determine what information must be included to prevent complications of therapy. 

When die patient is hospitalized, the nurse develops a nursing care plan to meet the patient s individual needs. Vital signs are monitored at frequent intervals, usually 3 to 4 times daily. In some instances, such as when hypotensive episodes occur, the vital signs are taken more often. The nurse reports any significant change in the vital signs to the primary healdi care provider. 

Behavioral records should be written at periodic intervals (frequency depends on hospital or unit guidelines). An accurate description of die patient s behavior and cognitive ability aids the primary health care provider in planning tiierapy and thus becomes an... 

Ms. Jackson, age 56years, is hospitalized with a venous thrombosis. The primary health care provider orders SC heparin. In developing a care plan for Ms. Jiekson, discuss the nursing interventions that would be most important to prevent complications while administering heparin. Provide a rationale for each intervention. 

A laboratory may come in any size or shape. It may be a room in an industrial plant, a wing of a hospital, or a whole building on a college campus. All of these present similar problems and decisions at the planning stage. Where should the laboratory be located How much space is required Will a proposed layout contribute to smooth traffic flow What utilities are needed What safety factors should be built in These are just some of the major questions planners must address. 

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