268070 Collaboration & preplanning: A key to hospital & public health disaster response

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Susan M. Smith, EdD MSPH , Department of Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
The proposed presentation will focus on the best practices and effective collaboration strategies needed for hospitals, public health agencies and other health related facilities to effectively plan and respond to a natural or man-made disaster impacting communities. The five characteristics the presenter has determined to be effective in supporting collaborative disaster planning and training to achieve a successful disaster response will be identified and discussed. These include: familiarity and trust, effective communication, boundaries and resilience, collaborative training, drills/exercises, and the stress factor. Examples of successful preparedness, response and collaboration among public health agencies healthcare institutions and community level responder organizations will be presented. Documented examples of poor collaboration and the lack of preparedness will be outlined. Best practices needed to effectively evacuate and safely shelter in place will be addressed. A 10-point Emergency Preparedness Check List designed to meet the needs of facilities whose clients include those with mobility, vision, or hearing limitations will also be presented and a copy provided to session participants to assist future efforts to assess the emergency preparedness of their facility.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to 1) list five characteristics of disaster planning recommended as essential for collaboration allowing an organization to successfully response to a disaster 2) describe at least five actions staff at a health related facility should take to support the ability of clients to effectively evacuate in response to a disaster 3) define four primary areas that must be addressed by a facility prior to a disaster to enable clients or residents and staff to safely shelter in place in response to an emergency or disaster. 4) Explain the 10 primary assessment areas included in the 10 Point Emergency Preparedness Checklist and describe how it could be used to as an assessment tool.

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Safety and Health Education and the Director of the Heartland Safety Education Center at Indiana University Bloomington. She has 20 years of experience teaching and conducting research in the fields of injury prevention, emergency management and safety. Her research includes: building planning tools and organizational strategies to reduce the rate of injuries or deaths occurring within high risk groups from evacuation or shelter in place during a disaster.
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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