Triage mass casualty decontamination

Minimally, all hospital personnel (e.g., nurses, physicians, security, and triage) who have a designated role in a HAZMAT response must be trained to the first responder awareness level (Levitin Siegelson, 2002). Staff must be comfortable with knowing how to locate and use personal protective equipment and with the decontamination process (see chapter 26, Mass Casualty Decontamination, for further discussion). 

Nursing education must help nurses attain the skill sets that will allow them to respond to large-scale disaster and mass casualty events while still providing for their own personal safety. These skills include rapid physical assessment and disaster triage, decontamination and the use of personal protective equipment and the allocation of scarce resources. 

After stabilization and external decontamination, patients require assessment for radiation injury based on dose, specific isotope involved and the presence of internal contamination. By performing individual biodosimetry, physicians can predict the subsequent clinical severity, survivability and treatment required, as well as triage patients with subclinical or no exposure (2). The three most useful items for estimating exposure doses in a mass casualty situation are ... 

Decontamination Mass-Casualty Triage Procedures R D Needs... 

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