IS your facility prepared to provide 72hrs emergency care re disaster/terrorism?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

from advance for nurses: jan 20, 2005

read:

72 hours by vern enge

is your facility prepared to provide 72 hours of solo emergency care in the wake of a natural disaster or terrorist attack?

this is your life on a daily basis, more or less: you eat, walk the dog, bathe, dress, go to work, come home, try to accomplish a few routine household tasks, and then get a little shut-eye just in time to do it all over again the next day. it's a modus operandi you typically cycle through three times in the course of 3 days without much fanfare or excitement.

but what if disaster struck? what if you suddenly are faced with a full-fledged catastrophe that, in addition to your routine nursing workload, means you are about to be confronted with an onslaught of patients, for which your facility may be the only healthcare oasis available in your area for the next 72 hours?

full story

also see: aftermath of disaster

[JEHORAPHA]

Karen,

I am so glad you posed this question. I believe that a specialty should be formed to ensure the basic guidelines to follow in the event of a natural disaster. We focus on the usual and most likely emergencies. However, due to the "world" changing, I feel the nursing profession will have to update to be able to adapt to change, whether postive or negative change. The facilites I have worked for in the past would not be able to handle such an occurrence.

[redraccoon, BSN, RN]

Yes! We had a special program developed and put in place for just this type of thing. Scary to think that it could happen - but good to know we are prepared.