Emergency Management Phases and Infectious Disease Clinic Preparedness- Policies Procedures and Resource Overview

Emergency Management Phases and Infectious Disease Clinic Preparedness- Policies Procedures and Resource Overview

In its ideal definition, emergency preparedness refers to any steps that are undertaken to safeguard oneself before, during, and after the occurrence of a natural (earthquake, tornadoes, and floods) or unnatural disaster (explosions and biological attacks). According to a recent survey by the Federal Emergency Management Authority (2017), 80% of Americans are now aware of the significance of emergency preparedness after the events of the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. However, even with these staggering statistics, the vast proportion of Americans has not demonstrated their ability to effectively adhere to the standards of emergency management going by the recent California Fires and the surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths, particularly in the larger New York metropolitan. The following literature critically analyzes the components of emergency management and discusses the policies and procedures that public health facilities have in place for controlling infectious diseases. Additionally, the literature shall also identify the local, state, and federal emergency preparedness resources available to the public. Do you need urgent assignment help ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.

Four Phases of Emergency Management

According to FEMA, it is pertinent that those responsible for emergency preparedness think of disasters or calamities as recurring events that take place through four major phases, including Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

Mitigation: In this phase, the actions that individuals should be encouraged to take are those that avert or decrease the cause, effect, and ramifications of disasters. Some of the examples of disaster mitigation may include purchasing insurance policies, levels of construction to control flooding, digging water channels to redirect water.

Preparedness: For this phase, some of the activities that ought to be undertaken include planning, training, as well as educational activities for all those events that cannot be averted. Some of the activities that ought to be undertaken in the preparedness phase include developing disaster preparedness plans, exercising plans through the use of drills, formulating a supply list, and identifying vulnerabilities that may cause harm to, be it an organizational or home setup (CDC, 2019).

Response: The response stage takes place immediately after the occurrence of the disaster. It is typical for businesses alongside other operations not to function optimally during this phase. As such, wellbeing alongside personal safety during an emergency and the duration of the response phase rely on the level of preparedness. Some examples of response activities include implementing disaster response plans, undertaking search and rescue missions, ensuring an adequate supply of essential medical supplies, and addressing public perceptions regarding food security (CDC, 2019).

Recovery:  During the recovery phase, the restoration efforts take place simultaneously with regular activities and operations. The recovery duration from a given disaster may be prolonged. Some of the activities that usually take place during the recovery phase include the restoration of damaged structures, the reduction of vulnerability to future disasters, and the reduction of stress-related burdens alongside excessive financial losses.

Policies and Procedures in the Practicum Setting

The policies and procedures at the Infectious Clinic of New York Public Hospitals are heavily borrowed from a policy developed by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The following key attributes of the policy:

The policy calls for the preparation of any emergencies through the integration of the overall hospital Emergency Risk Management Program.

The policy requires an ongoing assessment of risks arising from the interaction of potential hazards, community vulnerabilities as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the health system. Besides, the policy also places emphasis on risk reduction alongside emergency preparedness initiatives, including emergency response planning, training, and drills.

The policy also calls for the commitment of the clinic alongside the community (with the clinic’s support to engage in preparedness activities that are aimed at decreasing the risks linked with an emergency as well as acquiring the needed capacity for effective emergency response. This may include undertaking specific emergency preparedness initiatives to create as well as expand communication channels between the clinic and the community (World Health Organization, 2019).

The policy further requires periodic reassessment as well as updating of the Hospital Emergency Risk Management Program to take into consideration new lessons and developments learned from previous emergencies and exercises (World Health Organization, 2019).

Local, State, and National Emergency Preparedness Plan

The plan used at the local level includes

Ensuring that the Department of Fire is fully equipped alongside local healthcare centers

Developing the Emergency Operation Center alongside the Emergency Management Plan

Planning for the coordination of the response with other public and private agencies (Carter-Pokras, 2017).

The plan used at the state level for emergency preparedness include

Tasked with the responsibility of activating the state EOC if a disaster occurs

Tasked with the responsibility of assessing the situation

Tasked with the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating local response efforts, SITREPS, and assistance requests.

The plan at the federal level of government for emergency preparedness includes

Conducting joint PDA with the local and state government to establish damage to individuals’ homes and businesses as well as to individual agencies.

Approving and denying the request for federal aid. If approved, the federal government recruits a federal coordinating officer to head the emergency response team. The Federal government also establishes a disaster field office whose goal is to coordinate response alongside recovery.

The federal government also activates the procedures highlighted in the FRP (Nelson et al., 2017).

Local, State, and National Emergency Responses to Infection Control

Some of the responses that the Infection Disease Clinic usually undertakes while in coordination with the various levels of government (local, state, and federal) include the following:

Ensuring that mechanisms are put in place to receive response operational directions from and coordinate action with the incident command group at the different levels of government.

Adapting the communication component of the Emergency Response Plan to develop the communications component of the hospital’s incident Action Plan, which is usually tailored to the attributes of the emergency, as determined by the risk assessment and evolving situational and needs assessments.

Identification of the main challenges raised by the emergency alongside the information required to cope with or to resolve the challenge.

Consulting with the local, state, and federal departments of health to ensure that the content and procedures utilized in communicating with the media and public are within the standards set by the agency (Nelson et al., 2017).

Emergency Service

One emergency service that should be made available to the population in the event of natural and artificial disasters is indemnity coverage for undocumented immigrants. For years, undocumented immigrants have been unfairly discriminated against when it comes to compensation. To further exacerbate the situation, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency always set up shops in areas hard-hit by the disaster to identify those affected by disasters and deport them to their country of origin. This goes against the fundamental right to human dignity, considering that some of these immigrants pay taxes to the government regardless of their undocumented status (Carter-Pokras, 2017).

An additional overlooked emergency service that should be provided is psychological counseling and debriefing. Although this service is usually provided, most people usually overlook it as they are caught in the frenzy of activities of trying to salvage properties as well as look for loved ones. Subsequently, most victims of disasters who usually fail to access this service are at high risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder later on. As such, providers ought to create awareness of the existence of this service, as not every member of the public is aware of their existence.

Conclusion

In summary, various American agencies, including FEMA, CDC, WHO, and law enforcement agencies, have emergency preparedness strategies. All of these strategies involve the four crucial stages that ought to be followed when planning for disasters. Besides, different levels of government also play different roles and responsibilities when addressing emergency preparedness and infection control. Ultimately, as mentioned above, various emergency services are usually overlooked whenever an emergency occurs.

References

Carter-Pokras, O. (2017). Emergency preparedness: knowledge and perceptions of Latin American immigrants. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 18(2), 465-481.

CDC. (2019). Resources for State and Local Governments. Cdc.gov. https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/government.asp

FEMA. (2017). MRSC – Local Government Emergency Planning. Mrsc.org. https://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Public-Safety/Emergency-Services/Emergency-Management-and-Disaster-Planning/Emergency-Planning-at-the-Local-Government-Level.aspx#resources

Nelson, C., Lurie, N., Wasserman, J., & Zakowski, S. (2017). Conceptualizing and defining public health emergency preparedness. American journal of public health, 97(Supplement_1), S9-S11.

World Health Organization. (2019). Emergency preparedness and response (No. EM/RC61/Tech. Disc. 2 Rev. 1). World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

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Emergency Preparedness

Explain each component in the four phases of emergency management.

Describe the policies and procedures for emergency preparedness and disaster planning that the infectious disease clinic at the New York City public hospitals has in place.

Identify and describe local, state, and national emergency preparedness resources or plans.

Describe how the infectious disease clinic at the New York City public hospitals’ responses coordinate with local, state, and national emergency responses.

Describe emergency services that should be made available to the population in an emergency.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide.