For nurse working at a health facility, preparation for disaster focuses on enabling him or her to be appropriately-equipped to offer the necessary assistance whenever a disaster strikes. In this respect, the facility under consideration is considerably prepared by having various plans and resource in place to face any situation occasioned by a disaster. Such preparations involve comprehensive and detailed measures meant to ensure that the nursing staff has proactive members with enhanced capacity to make appropriate decisions and act expeditiously whenever a disaster strikes (Crowley & Flachsbart, 2018). Following the rise in disasters and events associated with the climate, nurses and their respective healthcare facilities are expected to have extensive preparations and plans meant to deal with such disasters. This nature of preparedness is crucial since it helps in empowering nurses to be in a better position to protect the facility and patients in case of a disaster.
One of these plans and preparations for nurses in this particular facility is a jump kit and a family disaster plan including water, food, medication, and medical insurance cards among others. To that extent, nurses are always expected to be regularly updated concerning the latest disaster plan embraced by the facility. This consideration would be crucial in enabling nurses to play an active role in the review of the disaster plan belonging to the facility including their roles and responsibilities as a department and as individuals. According to Tharp and Graham (2016), the executive leadership in this facility has considered a prior allocation of funds and resources to cater for disaster management services. For instance, if a disaster results in floods, water contamination, and loss of electric power connectivity for a long duration, people from the surrounding community may be forced to depend on this particular facility for assistance. To that extent, appropriate measures towards disaster preparedness and management by a healthcare facility should focus on plans that consider including situations where the facility is regarded as a disaster victim while considering other aspects of preparedness.
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The other aspect of preparedness by this particular facility in addressing situations occasioned by disasters is the preparation of the surrounding community. Considering that a significant number of healthcare facilities are increasingly becoming multifaceted and more diverse, it is vital for nurses, and their respective facilities think about the roles that might be played by the surrounding communities (Crowley & Flachsbart, 2018). Besides, it is crucial for the facility to approach the issue of preparedness for disaster through minding the needs of their patients and their community in their plans. In its preparedness plans focusing on the plight and concerns of nurses, the facility has programs that provide details of rapid evacuation and alternative accommodation services for both patients and staff members at times of disasters. In this way, this facility ensures the availability of additional and alternative medicine and healthcare services that are expected to be operational in the event of a disaster
Availability of Emergency Plans
The comprehensive emergency plan available in this facility also entails the acquisition of data and information regarding the possibility of occurrence of emergencies with a higher a likelihood of affecting the capacity of the facility to offer appropriate services as well as recovering from a disaster. Besides, this facility has been able to establish a strategy for the response as well as an action plan for an emergency with a comprehensive description of the steps that would be taken to ensure that the medical staff and patients are adequately protected in the event of an emergency (Tharp & Graham, 2016). In this way, some of the most prominent components of the emergency action plan established by this facility include the identification of the personnel charged with the responsibility of the development and implementation of the entire program. Others include the initiation of details written down with the objective of explaining the manner in which the facility is expected to approach the issue of responding to a medical emergency or disaster as well as the acquisition and maintenance of a desirable level of safety. According to Crowley and Flachsbart (2018), nurses have a crucial role to play in the emergency preparedness of their facilities at the state, national, and local levels through education of the community as well as planning. Several professional bodies in the healthcare industry have been at the forefront in agitating for the active participation of nurses in the various stages of disaster response and preparedness undertaken by their facilities within their communities.
In this particular facility, the availability of emergency plans is usually reinforced by the engagement of nurses in the assessment of hazards as well as the formulation of plans prior aimed at addressing disasters. Other than ensuring the emergency preparedness of the staff and the facility, this particular action plan is involved in the making of an additional commitment focused on influencing the general medical emergency preparations. In this regard, the preparedness is realized through preparing and training nurses and other medical staff members on effective ways of addressing handling medical emergencies (Tharp & Graham, 2016). Besides, the action plan is mostly concerned with making commitments aimed at impacting the overall disaster preparations through the performance of various tasks. Such tasks include initiating blood donation drives, a contribution of resources in support of emergency response, and developing programs of emergency preparedness among others. Concerning the emergency that may be occasioned by an influx of patients, the facility has been able to establish measures aimed at handling large numbers of patients arriving rapidly to seek for medical services. To this end, it is crucial to have different ways of assessing victims of a disaster and obtaining reliable information that helps in boosting the aspect of preparedness.
Role of FEMA Website in Assisting with Disasters and Emergency Preparedness
The FEMA website has a vital role to play in ensuring that a medical facility is adequately prepared to deal with disasters as well as handling different forms of emergencies. In this way, the FEMA website has always been involved in active contacting of the survivors of various kinds of disasters with the aim of understanding their housing plights. Besides, FEMA has previously played a considerable role in the identification of the long-term and short-term housing alternatives and options for the survivors of such disasters (Crowley & Flachsbart, 2018). As a disaster assistance agency, FEMA is always keen to oversee the recovery processes and assistance for the victims of disasters such as Hurricane Michael. Mainly, the FEMA websites may be of great help to nurses and their respective healthcare facilities by providing information and resources necessary for enhancing their preparedness in handling disasters and emergencies. In that respect, this particular website gives the nurses and the executive management of healthcare facilities with critical information such as the ones from the FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs). Thus, it is clear that different disaster management facilities like mobile offices can be widely accessed through the FEMA website.
The convenience of accessibility to the disaster recovery centers by nurses and the management of healthcare facilities makes it is easier and more affordable for them to enroll and benefit various disaster assistance initiatives and programs. It is clear from the FEMA websites that different disaster recovery centers are situated in more convenient locations with the objective of facilitating the emergency preparedness and disaster management plans undertaken by various medical facilities through the involvement of nurses. In offering further assistance, nurses and their respective facilities stand to benefit from disaster recovery centers through support with application information and process for the victims (Tharp & Graham, 2016). Besides, the facilities and their staff members find it easier to learn and understand more regarding disaster management and assistance programs such as rental and housing for the victims. Through this particular website, it is easier for nurses and other stakeholders in the healthcare industry to find reliable answers to different questions revolving around disaster management and emergency preparedness as well as practical techniques in resolving problems.
Availability of Resources
Several resources are available and may be appropriately be used in the planning and management of disaster and emergency preparedness. Part of these resources includes vital information on ways and means of increasing the effectiveness of strategies aimed at handling dusters and emergencies affecting healthcare staff members and patients. Other crucial resources that are available in from the FEMA website include disaster management plans, procedures, training manuals, and information concerning emergency management programs. Besides, the site provides more resources in the form of the information made available to different healthcare facilities concerning the local resources distributed across the country with the objective of overseeing the disaster recovery processes.
The surrounding communities often benefit from emergency management agencies situated in different states across the country with the objective of assisting business and individual victims of disasters such as Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Florence among others. Some of the important resources that may be used in the planning and management of situations occasioned by disasters include skilled personnel and sophisticated equipment. In this way, funding plays a vital role in facilitating the training of the qualified staff and procurement of the relevant equipment to aid in the management of emergencies and disasters.
Thoughts on Natural and Man-made Disasters
Generally, both natural and manmade disasters may be described as accidental or sudden events of monumental proportions characterized by significant damage of property, severe injuries or loss of lives. In this regard, the dusters are usually drastic, immediate, and often happen without any warning or alarm. Some disasters may occur in a form described by a long duration like floods whereas others such as tremors and earthquakes are short-lived (Pierce et al., 2016). Both the natural and human-made disasters are capable of resulting in extensive damages in the form of injuries, deaths, and loss of properties irrespective of their durations. Natural disasters usually result from natural effects or forces of nature which are beyond the control of humans. Some of the natural forms of disasters that have commonly been experienced in different parts across the earth include cyclones, droughts, floods and earthquakes among others. According to Alamri (2016) wildfires, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis are usually classified under natural disasters owing to their ability to cause enormous destruction of property and loss of life. Man-made disasters typically result from human actions such as carelessness in handling hazardous substances or equipment. Some of the commonly occurring human-made disasters are plane crashes, train accidents, as well as the collapse of mines, bridges, and buildings among others.
It is often argued that human-made disasters are more dangerous compared to natural disasters since most of the human-made disasters may be intentional. Besides, human-made disasters can be used to target a certain group of people or property with the objective of causing massive destructions such as the use of nuclear weapons. Also, the effects associated with human-made disasters usually tend to last for a longer duration compared to those of natural disasters (Alamri, 2016). For instance, global warming is one of the effects of the effects of human-made disasters resulting in human activities that gradually pollute the environment. Some researchers have argued natural disasters have a higher tendency of being extremely devastating in comparison to the human-made disasters. For instance, the earthquake that attacked Haiti at the beginning of the year 2010 can be described as one of a monumental proportion considering that it resulted to the loss of lives for more than 200,000 people and the country has not been able to recover from that particular disaster (Alamri, 2016). In a different situation involving the occurrence of a natural disaster, the world was shocked to watch the horror that was occasioned by a combination of tsunami and earthquake which led to the killing of thousands of people. To that extent, the potential impacts of human-made disasters that may happen in future are frightening and worrying.
Another notable human-made disaster that was mostly intentional was the nuclear way event that occurred in Japan several decades ago. Besides, it can only take a single natural disaster to wreak enormous havoc on properties and lives. As such, the concept of disaster preparedness and emergency management, especially by healthcare facilities and the relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies, should be regarded as a critical consideration. Even though disaster preparedness may not stop natural disasters from happening, they have a considerable role to play in reducing the magnitude and the impact of the accompanying destructions and losses (Pierce et al ., 2016). When considering the potential effects linked to some of the full range forms of natural disasters and others like famine and epidemic diseases, it is easier to understand the world population could be adversely affected by disasters in the absence of appropriate preparations.
References
Alamri, Y. (2016). Successful post-disaster recovery requires adequate pre-disaster preparedness: The case of Gulf countries. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , 11(04), 402.
Crowley, J. and Flachsbart, P. (2018). Local debris management planning and FEMA policies on disaster recovery in the United States. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction , 27, 373-379.
Pierce, J., Morley, S., West, T., Pentecost, P., Upton, L. and Banks, L. (2016). improving
Long-Term care facility disaster preparedness and response: A literature review. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , 11(01), 140-149.
Tharp, K. and Graham, J. (2016). FEMA versus local governments: Influence and reliance on disaster preparedness. Natural Hazards , 82(1), 123-138.
