Introduction: As the nation’s disaster management capabilities evolve, civilian and military emergency management and medical interoperability is critical for development of a successful response and consequence management plan. The U.S. military has a history of training for and managing healthcare needs in complex and unpredictable environments, such as Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) incident response, while civilian medical response capabilities during these scenarios vary drastically from community to community. Integration of military and civilian medical resources and response capabilities is important, and has been achieved in some regions, but capabilities, resources, and programs vary. Purpose: The purpose of this poster is to provide an example of a comprehensive guidance for medical contingency response to CBRN threat at a Tier 1 Medical Treatment Facility (MTF), based on the military model.
Methods: A model is provided for an effective response, providing thorough guidance on the employment of the Decontamination Incident Response Team (DIRT) to secure the MTF and protect the hospital staff members and patients from exposure to potentially life-threatening chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants. Described is the DIRT team’s responsibilities in developing, conducting, and managing warm-zone operations to prevent the spread of contamination by victims/patients in need of medical attention prior to entering the MTF. The seven categories of the warm-zone operations plan are dissected, and each category, including but not limited to agent detection, decontamination, and triage, is detailed with regard to how it affects the response actions and decision-making process. Roles and responsibilities of response team members are also discussed.
Conclusion: Providing a thorough glimpse of an effective military hospital-based program, this poster may be used as a reference to guide environmental health professionals involved in CBRN emergency response development, planning, or program improvement in similar military or civilian healthcare institutions.
I've seen similar topics discussed at AIHA and AFPHC conferences, but it's lacking at NEHA. Most of these are usually discussed from a emergency responder perspective rather than a hospital response perspective. I'd like to see this poster made available for everyone to review.
ReplyDeleteI agree. A large portion of an emergency management program involves medical support. In treating patients with chemical, biological or radiological exposure, decontamination is of primary importance. Using a patient decontamination plan implemented without specific adaptation to the hospital may result in undesirable outcomes.
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