Disaster in Franklin County free essay sample

Disaster in Franklin County Katherine Helm Western Governor’s University May 2013 Role of the Major Public Health Personnel In the event of a disaster, the community relies upon the public health personnel to evaluate the needs of the community, assess the available resources, provide reliable information, and coordinate health activities. It is essential that local health workers are trained professionals who are reassuring and organized to address health, social, cultural and material concerns of the community. Local health personnel coordinate social services, transportation, available health services, volunteers, outside assistance, public utilities and rescue work (HELP, 1989). The public health nurse is an integral public health team member and is uniquely qualified to serve the population. The public health nurse effectively communicates and collaborates with the local health department and other groups and agencies to mobilize resources required during a disaster. The public health nurse possesses knowledge about the community population and can help identify possible gaps in available services (Public Health Nursing, 2005). Also, as in the simulation of the Disaster in Franklin County, the public health nurse functioned as part of the canvassing team sent to conduct door-to-door interviews of the residents. The team was able to assess the health and safety status of residents living within a flood zone and provide immediate assistance based upon identified needs (Disaster in Franklin County, 2006). Chain of Command The Public Health Command System for the Franklin County simulation is lead by the Incident Commander who enlists the Deputy Director to appoint section chiefs and command staff who will comprise the Public Health Incident command team. The team and the assigned responsibilities are as follows: 1) Planning Chief: Responsible for gathering and analyzing information to formulate the incident action plan. 2) Public Information Officer: Works through the EOC to ensure consistent public health communications. 3) Liaison Officer: Point of contact for supporting agencies and assistant to the incident commander. 4) Operations Chief: Organizes tactical field resources. 5) Logistics Chief: Acquires space, supplies, and equipment for operations to be able to function. ) Finance/Administration Chief: Ensures contracts and finances are in place for the The public health nurse is also part of the Incident Command Team. As a single resource, the public health nurse is part of the Nurse Strike Team. The PHN would report to the leader of the Nurse Strike Team. The Strike Team reports to the Medical Care Group who then reports to the Operations Chief within the Incident Command (FEMA, 2010). Available Resources The public health nurs e has many resources available to help assist residents after a natural disaster. The priorities after a disaster such as a flood are for providing services in high-risk areas such as adequate and safe water, basic sanitation facilities, liquid and solid waste disposal, shelter, food protection, and personal hygiene. The public health nurse has access to written literature that can be provided to residents who are safe to remain in their homes, which describe food and water safety as well as hygiene measures. If residents are willing to leave an unsafe living environment, the public health nurse is able to locate shelters for temporary safe housing. Epidemiology specialists are available to the nurse if signs of a possible disease outbreak has been detected or suspected. The nurse will have access to mental health counselors as well to assist the community in adjusting and adapting to the disaster. And finally, the public health nurse has access to current, accurate information through the public health incident team. It is essential that members of the community be provided with updated, timely information to recover from the disaster (PAHO, 1981). Door-to-Door Actions Taken During the course of the door-to-door interviews, the nurse encountered several possible emergency situations. One of the residents, Mr. Fugate, requires daily blood pressure medications and was out of the medication. The nurse was able to assess that his blood pressure was currently in a normal range. However, Mr. Fugate would require close monitoring until the prescription could be obtained. The nurse was able to refer the resident to a local shelter where he could be closely monitored and receive emergency care if needed (Disaster in Franklin County, 2006). Mr. Westlund was concerned about having toxic chemicals in his shed that had been damaged. He also had flooding in his basement. The public health nurse was able to make a call to the environmental health specialist to have the HAZMAT team dispatched for potential hazard waste clean up and to provide Mr. Westlund with information for post-flood cleanup of his basement (Disaster in Franklin County, 2006). There was concern within the Alvarez household that a generator was not being properly ventilated during use. Although Mrs. Alvarez did not speak English, the nurse was able to speak to her son and provided him with safety instructions for the generator. She also provided written material in both English and Spanish on food and water safety since the power at the Alvarez house was out (Disaster in Franklin County, 2006). Actions to Help With Coping While conducting door-to-door interviews, the public health nurse identified that there were concerns at the Fuhr household for lack of basic provisions. Mrs. Fuhr was experiencing anxiety over the situation. The public health nurse provided options to Mrs. Fuhr, providing her the opportunity to be involved in making decisions, which should help to relieve some of her anxiety. The nurse also suggested a social service visit to provide available resources for the next several weeks. Listening, validating concerns, and providing current accurate information are all techniques available to the public health nurse to help calm the fears of the community members. Referrals to mental health agencies should be offered as an option to help residents adjust, adapt, and cope with the stressors that occur during the disaster recovery period (Disaster in Franklin County, 2006). Preparing Other Nursing Personnel Pre-disaster planning and education is essential for post-disaster recovery. It is important to plan for major disasters and events that are likely to occur within a community. Every community agency should be involved and actively be a part of the plan for it to be effective. The disaster plan should be tested periodically to ensure that during the course of a live disaster, the plan is still valid (PAHO, 1981). Part of the disaster planning should include comprehensive training of health professionals in areas of first aid, search and rescue, and public hygiene. Nursing personnel working in every aspect of the healthcare industry should be recruited to respond in the event of a disaster and trained to function in the role of a public health nurse (PAHO, 1981). Resources FEMA Emergency Management Institute. (2010). Introduction to the Incident Command System for Healthcare/Hospitals. Retrieved from training. fema. gov/EMIWeb/IS/courseOverview. aspx? code=is-100. hcb Health Education Library For People. (1989). Coping With Natural Disasters: The Role Of Local Health Personnel And The Community. Retrieved from www. ealthlibrary. com/book47_chapter800. htm Pan American Health Organization. (1981). Emergency Health Management after Natural Disaster. Retrieved from http://epdfiles. engr. wisc. edu/dmcweb/BC06EmergencyHealthManagement. pdf Public Health Nursing, (2005). The Public Health Nurse Role In Bioterrorism/Disaster Preparedness. Retrieved from publichealthnursing. webs. com/disasternursing. htm Regents of the University of Minnesota. (2006) . Disaster in Franklin County, A Public Health Simulation. Retrieved from https://cpheo1. sph. umn. edu/fcs/index. asp