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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Wanda Lizak Welles, PhD and Rebecca E Wilburn, MPH. Bureau of Toxic Substance Assessment, New York State Department of Health, Flanigan Square, Room 330, 547 River Street, Troy, NY 12180, 518-402-7810, wlw02@health.state.ny.us
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) must be prepared to receive and care for the hazmat patient whether the contamination is a spilled household product or a deliberate terrorist attack. Depending on factors such as the nature of the hazardous substance and the mode of arrival, the hazmat patient can tax and compromise ED function. The New York State Department of Health, as part of the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, conducted a one-year pilot in twelve EDs, mostly in New York City, to collect information on hazmat patients: their exposure, mode of arrival and injuries; the need for decontamination and the EDs' readiness to respond. Most events involved few patients, but events with larger numbers of patients quickly strained the EDs' capacities, even when those events did not pose a risk of secondary contamination. During the pilot, EDs provided information on their staffs' hazmat training, the availability of personal protective equipment, and their decontamination capacity during routine and mass casualty incidents. This session will provide baseline information and will highlight actual case scenarios. Participants will develop an understanding of hazmat events and the potential consequences to ED operation.
Learning Objectives: As a result of this session, participants will be able to
Keywords: Emergency Department/Room, Hazards
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.