Assignment
Analyze emergency and natural disasters worldwide from a healthcare perspective
Scenario
You are the emergency department manager for a hospital. A recent hazard assessment determined that your organization is located in a particularly vulnerable area for the following natural disasters and emergency situations:
I. Emergencies: explosions, pandemics, war
II. Natural disasters: earthquakes, extreme heat, tropical cyclones
Your organization's annual evaluations of the preparedness plan will be occurring in the next few weeks. The existing plan is established but could always benefit from examination and improvements. Your organization must prepare in the event that a natural disaster or emergency occurs in your area; it also needs to plan for the appropriate healthcare services and resources required to respond to these types of situations.
You can analyze past events to learn from them and improve your organization's preparedness plan. As the emergency department manager, you will examine various examples of how other countries have prepared and responded to natural disasters and emergencies. This research will help you improve your organization's preparedness plan and create a presentation for the decision makers in your organization, including the directors of departments. Your analysis and presentation will help to inform the improvement of your organization's current preparedness plan. The improved plan will be used for training staff in their roles, as they will need to be aware of what is required to prepare and respond to emergencies and natural disasters.
Directions
You want to be considerate of the directors' time, so you will present on one type of emergency situation and one type of natural disaster from the hazard assessment. As you research, you decide to include international examples of each type of situation to demonstrate how other countries have prepared and responded to these situations. You will want to consider differences in the availability of resources and supplies, personnel, infrastructure, means of communication, and transportation around the world.
Introduction: To begin your presentation, you will describe each situation from a healthcare perspective. Consider what healthcare professionals should know about each type of situation. For instance, consider the terminology commonly used by emergency preparedness and response professionals to communicate potential hazards and impacts to the public and to healthcare professionals.
Hazard Analysis: It is essential for healthcare professionals to understand the potential hazards that could directly or indirectly affect people, healthcare personnel, and facilities. In your presentation, you will describe the threats to public health, including potential injuries and illnesses before, during, and after each type of situation. Analyze at least one international example of each situation, and consider how hazard mitigation and preparedness efforts vary worldwide and, therefore, influence the range and severity of threats to public health.
Preparedness: Preparedness plans address how healthcare staff and facilities will meet the needs of patients if essential resources are impacted as a result of a natural disaster or emergency situation. For each of the following, you will speak to at least one international example of each situation and analyze what resources are needed to provide the appropriate care and services during and after each type of situation.
I. Resources: Analyze each situation to determine the resources-including food, water, and shelter-required to treat the affected populations during and after each type of situation. Consider the variations in the means by which different countries receive resources.
II. Facilities: Analyze each situation to identify the facilities required to care for patients during and after each type of situation. Consider the likelihood that medical facilities or surrounding infrastructure is damaged or compromised. In your presentation, you will discuss methods that may be used to create more space in a medical facility, establish temporary medical facilities, or transfer patients to other facilities to provide the appropriate healthcare to the affected populations.
III. Personnel: The goal of healthcare professionals in any emergency or natural disaster situation is to care for patients first! Based on the potential threats to public health, determine the appropriate medical personnel needed to treat patient injuries and illnesses. Consider the emergency responders, medical personnel, and modes of transportation required for safely transporting patients from the incident site to medical facilities during or after situations around the world.
IV. Medical supplies and equipment: Disaster planning includes ensuring the availability of the appropriate supplies and equipment. Analyze each situation to determine the appropriate supplies and equipment needed at the incident site and associated medical facilities to treat the affected populations' injuries and illnesses. Consider the availability of medications, equipment, and electricity.
Emergency and disaster relief: To close your presentation, speak to at least one international example of each situation, and discuss the role of global humanitarian efforts and relief organizations in providing healthcare resources, personnel, and services to the affected populations during and after each type of situation.
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
• The answer must be using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, typed, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• The response also includes a cover page containing the student's name, the title of the assignment, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.