Community Emergency Preparedness

Community Emergency Preparedness

September is National Preparedness Month, and the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) is promoting "Are You Prepared" (National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2011). Responding to a disaster or emergency situation is a stressful event on a community. Public health departments are the first line of defense, and set the tone of how well the community will respond and recover from a disaster (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). Public health nurses play an important role in the disaster cycle. The disaster cycle includes mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery (Jakeway, LaRosa, & Cary, 2008). Public health nurses play a critical part in keeping the community safe before, during, and after disasters. They serve as first responders, leadership and management roles, and in the field where they provide health services (Jakeway, LaRosa, & Cary, 2008).

Neighborhood News

There is a forest fire in the Neighborhood. It has been burning for five days, and destroying many acres of the forest. At this point the community is not in direct danger. The city officials have told the citizens they are not in direct danger, and will notify the community in advance if the fire shifts toward the town (Pearson Health Science, 2011).

Events

The smoky air is affecting all the citizens, but is filling the hospital beds with citizens that have preexisting respiratory conditions. The emergency department has increased numbers of patients, and not enough beds for all the patients. The medical unit nurses are working on discharging patients to make beds available for the patients transferring from the emergency department. The hospital is already suffering a nurse shortage and one of the nurses is not on duty today. The medical unit nurses are stressed and have low moral during this emergency situation (Pearson Health Science, 2011).

The senior center has a nurse on site and acts an outpatient unit. The seniors that are going to the center tell the nurse they are using their oxygen more than usual. The nurse is requesting that the patients stay inside and avoid respiratory irritants (Pearson Health Science, 2011).

The local schools are still in session. Budget cuts mean that there is one nurse for the elementary, middle, and high school. On a normal day Violet Brinkwater feels she is not an effective nurse, because each school has so many needs. The needs of each school are greater because of the fire. Violet is seeing students that are having respiratory issues, and not the needed medication available at the school. She is then sending the students home.

The fire is affecting the Bley household. Jimmy and Cecelia Bley is an older American Native couple. Jimmy has emphysema and believes it is not that bad. Jimmy is staying inside because of the fire, but needs to go to the store and buy parts for the broken dryer. He determines it is best that they stay at home until the air clears up. Cecelia is frustrated that she cannot dry the laundry so their daughter comes over and goes to the Laundromat with her mother. Jimmy stays home since he knows that the smoke would affect his breathing (Pearson Health Science, 2011).

Health Care Workers Actions

The public health teams in Neighborhood should have developed a disaster plan before this disaster. The health department should have called all the volunteer and unemployed nurses who had been recruited and trained to respond to emergency disasters. Federal money is given to each community so that the first responders can develop disaster preparedness and practice response skills (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008).

The public health nurse is a liaison with the hospital, other health professionals, healthcare facilities, law enforcement agencies, school officials, city officials, and first responders to minimize the consequences of disasters and emergency situations (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008), (Jakeway, LaRosa, & Cary, 2008). The public health department did not have effective communication with other agencies. Each agency is independently caring for the needy citizens leaving many resources underutilized.

The public health nurses, volunteer nurses, and nurses from the American Red Cross would be the first responders at the fire (Jakeway, LaRosa, & Cary, 2008). Having a variety of nurses allows nursing skills to be performed by nurses who are current with that particular scope of practice. Valuable team members would include nurses that can administer shots, medications, or IV fluids (Jakeway, LaRosa, & Cary, 2008).

Other Agencies

"Local public health infrastructure includes the systems, competencies, frameworks, relationships, and resources that enable public health agencies to perform their core functions and essential services (National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2011). Available at the local level is the Emergency Alert System, the Red Cross, Fire Corp, and the National Center on Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities (Department of Justice, 2011). The Emergency Alert System warns the public about Emergency situations this usually done via television and radio. The Red Cross helps local communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies (Department of Justice, 2011). The Fire Corp works with local fire department, and enhances their operations. National Center on Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities assists local communities to plan and organize for citizens with communication, transportations, or medical needs (Department of Justice, 2011).

Emergency resources at the state level that are include: National Emergency Response Team (NERT), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (Department of Justice, 2011). National Emergency Response Team conceives and develops, and implement disaster services and education. HHS focuses on bioterrorism such as anthrax or smallpox (Department of Justice, 2011). DHS educates