Other Emergency Planning Issues

For a small facility (less than 50 beds) where one individual performs multiple functions, the process may be relatively simple, with a single individual coordinating development of the EWSP. However, for a large hospital of several hundred beds, the process of developing the plan will be more complex. 

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Information related to broader industry issues, newly recognized hazards, and lessons learned from near misses and actual incidents can also be shared with customers and users as part of product stewardship. Trade, professional, and other cooperative organizations such as universities and local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) can be effective vehicles for information sharing, in addition to individual company initiatives. 

Among the various types of emergencies that can occur in a laboratory environment, occurrence of a fire is a major probability. The best way to minimize the effect of emergencies is to prevent them. For this reason, fire prevention plans should be instituted. If a fire or other emergency does occur, emergency plans must be in place to protect the laboratory and its workers. These plans may be a part of the laboratory CHP, or they may stand alone. Various issues associated with life safety must be considerd to maximize the occupant s ability to escape the facility during an emergency. 

The duration of most of these incidents is very short, and law enforcanent seldom actually stops the attack points. It is therefore imperative for schools, staff, and community stakeholders to develop preventive measures whenever possible in addition to maintaining current and well-exercised emergency plans. The preventive measures should include protocols and procedures for responding to and managing threats and other behavioral issues. Following acquisition of hazard and threat information, the team is ready to proceed to the vulnerability-assessment process. 

Other means of evaluating the toxic effects of vapors, and their potential impact on exposed people, can be found in the Emergency Response Planning Guidelines for Air Contaminants (ERPGs), issued by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (1992). The documents define values of exposure to toxic vapors needed to produce specific health effects. Three levels of vapor concentration are defined ... 

The availability of capital resources is equally important. As mentioned, the current health care system— including the emergency, acute, and chronic care components—are all operating at maximal capacity. However, EMS vehicles, ED and hospital beds, and operating rooms will be needed in differing levels based on the incident (Auf der Heide, 2006 Pesik et al., 2001). For the EMS system, planners must know and address mutual aid issues. In upstate New York, Rural Metro Medical Services provides EMS in many cities and has a plan to shift resources between cities in event of crisis. Thus, additional ambulances, communications equipment, and maintenance facilities can be deployed throughout the region. In other areas, mutual aid compacts must be in place to allow for the immediate recruitment of as many additional EMS units as are needed (Auf der Heide, 2006). 

Other issues that may concern Regulators are when a precedent is being set. It is possible that the precedent set by one particular Rx-to-OTC switch could be damaging in terms of their overall policy, even when they have relatively little concern about the switch itself this may be the reason for hesitancy shown in approving Plan B , a proposed OTC product for emergency contraception by the US FDA. Careful negotiation is called for. The corollary is that if your proposed Rx-to-OTC switch can be shown to follow some sort of precedent, then your road with the regulators will be smoother. 

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