176080 Emergency preparedness status of community mental health facilities before and after hurricanes katrina and rita

Monday, October 27, 2008

Susan M. Smith, EdD , Department of Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
Linda Peoples, RN PhD , UT Saftey Center, University of Tennessees @ Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
The Emergency Preparedness Status of Community Mental Health Facilities Before and After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -Abstract

A summary report of the emergency preparedness status of community mental health facilities in the southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and Texas before and after hurricanes Katrina/Rita will be described in this presentation. A discussion of prior research focused on community mental health facility emergency preparedness as well as the analysis of the results of this survey of community mental health facilities emergency preparedness conducted following Katrina/Rita will be provided.

The survey of all community mental health administrators in the five southern states was conducted one year following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to gather data. Of the 168 facilities receiving a survey, 85 (51%) of the community mental health facility administrators returned completed surveys. The emergency preparedness actions reported by community mental health administrators included: 1)which facilities reported the existence of an emergency plan before and/or after Katrina/Rita 2) whether facilities conducted an emergency exercise or drill before and/or after Katrina/Rita 3) if a facility reported the modification of an existing emergency plan following Katrina/Rita and 4) which facilities provided debriefing services for emergency responders to mitigate post traumatic stress disorder following Katrina/Rita.

It is important for decision makers and emergency managers promoting an increase in community level emergency preparedness to understand the impact of disasters on the facilities preparedness. The presentation reports results which can assist policy makers and emergency responders to better understand community facility responses to a disaster.

Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives: 1. Identify two specific forms of training that can be under taken by a community organization to improve emergency preparedness and response. 2. Describe the type and amount of emergency preparedness training reported by community mental health facilities in 5 southern states before and after the hurricane Katrina/Rita disaster. 3. Articulate the rationale of creating and implementing policy incentives for community mental health facilities to promote an increase in specific activities to improve emergency preparedness.

Keywords: Disasters, Vulnerable Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was directly involved in the collection and analysis of the data to be presented as a part of my professional position as a associate professor of public health and safety at the University of Tennessee..
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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