Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Preparedness

Nurses play a critical role in disaster management. Nurses can play a crucial planning role by preparing the communities and the individuals so that the potential hazards are mitigated in case of a disaster. The nurses can achieve this by planning for the vulnerable populations such the pregnant women and infants and other people with unique needs in the society (Swapna, 2018). Through planning, nurses can provide a roadmap of how such a population will be attended when a disaster strikes. Nurses can prepare the society for such disaster through consumer and community education, and planning on how they will provide direct care when a disaster strikes. Though such a level of preparedness, nurses can tackle the disaster in case it hits..

Disasters are catastrophic; hence there is a need for a proper response when they strike. Nurses play a critical role during the response stage when such disaster strikes. Nurses deploy response teams such as educators, leaders, clinicians, and counselors in response to different types of disasters. Nurses are equipped with enough knowledge and skills required to respond to certain disaster situations. Nursing can formulate disaster response plans, instill various security measures, and also develop operation protocols that are much needed to tackle such disasters (Hammad et al., 2017). They also educate the society on how to make it to safety, which helps the persons alleviate fear and anxiety. Nurses are involved in various volunteer activities through several organizations such as the American Red Cross and the United States Public Health Service. Nurses start implementing recovery even before the first patient arrives in the hospital. The nurses begin implementing the recovery process by carrying out medical surveillance for the disaster victims and also aid the families with the recovery process. The nurses may also respond to disasters by reviewing what the leading cause was and putting in place proper measures to prevent it from occurring again.

California’s plan for preparedness and disaster and management is one of the best examples because it addresses the core elements of a disaster management plan. It contains each phase of preparation and disaster plan, such as the California Emergency Support functions, which addresses the emergency and management needs of all communities living in California (Palm, 2019). The plan addresses the community needs, such as the hazards and the vulnerabilities that the people living in California may face. The plan also contains evidence of thought beyond a written script because it addresses how the whole plan will be implemented. According to the plan, critical elements of disaster management are tested regularly. This includes the state-wide winter worms and the Oroville Dam Auxiliary Spillway incident, which occurred in 2017.

The plan also states how treatment can be carried out in case of a disaster. It explains that residents can participate in treatment by availing emergency supplies and also providing first aid services. The plan also avails different ways of how resources might be raised in case of a disaster, and this includes using their federal funds and also supplies from the national government. The family members and the residents can help in the identification of the victims. The plan explains that during the disaster mitigation, several back up teams and resources will be set aside to help their counterparts in case they are overwhelmed. In case of mass causalities, the plan suggests that more response teams will be deployed on the ground; the resource allocation will be increased.

References

Swapna, M. K. (2018). Knowledge Attitude and Practices Regarding Disaster management among Nurses: A study from Delhi/NCR. International Journal in Management & Social Science, 6(3), 1-6.

Hammad, K. S., Arbon, P., Gebbie, K., & Hutton, A. (2017). Moments of disaster response in the emergency department (ED). Australasian emergency nursing journal, 20(4), 181-185.