286408
Emergency response: Strategies to increase the safety & effectiveness of emergency responders
Monday, November 4, 2013
: 2:30 PM - 2:47 PM
Susan Smith, EdD, MSPH
,
Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana School of Public Health Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
The proposed presentation will focus on the best practices and strategies needed for local emergency responders and response agencies to prepare for an effective and safer response to a violent intruder, a natural or man-made disaster impacting their communities and maintain a safe emergency preparedness plan for each of their own facilities. The five major factors the presenter has determined through case study analysis to be effective in supporting a safer and more effective response when multiple units or organizations are respond will be presented. These five factors related to the interaction of groups of responders include: familiarity and trust, effective communication, boundaries and resilience, collaborative training, drills/exercises, and the stress factor. Each factor required to support collaborative disaster planning and training to achieve a safe and successful disaster response will be identified and described. Examples of successful preparedness, response and collaboration among community level responders and their organizations will be presented. Documented examples of poor collaboration and the lack of preparedness by responders will also be outlined. Best practices for facility emergency preparedness will also be presented. These practices will focus on measures needed to safely and effectively evacuate and or safely shelter in place within their own facilities. A 10-point Emergency Preparedness Check List designed by the presenter to meet the needs of facilities typically housing local response agencies 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
Occupational health and safety
Other professions or practice related to public health
Program planning
Learning Objectives:
List five characteristics of disaster planning recommended as essential for responding agencies to safely and successfully response to a disaster
Describe at least five actions that should be taken to support the ability of responders to safely evacuate or safely shelter in place in response to an emergency or disaster involving their own facility.
Describe at least 7 of the 10 primary assessment areas included in the 10 Point Emergency Preparedness Facility Checklist and describe how the checklist can be used to as an assessment tool.
Keywords: Safety, 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 & Health Education Center at Indiana School of Public Health Bloomington. She has 20 years of experience teaching and conducting research related to injury prevention, emergency management and safety. Her research includes: building planning tools and organizational strategies to reduce the rate of injuries or deaths within high risk groups such a local emergency responders.
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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