Infectious Disease Hospital Preparedness: Lessons Learned From the 2019 Measles Outbreak

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Matthew Fifolt ◽  
Rachael A Lee ◽  
Sarah Nafziger ◽  
Lisa C McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Hospital Preparedness

Abstract Objective: This paper: (1) explores the real and perceived threats to Emergency Departments (EDs) in addressing infectious disease cases in the US, like measles, and (2) identifies priorities for protecting employees, patients, and others stakeholders through hospital preparedness while streamlining processes and managing costs. Methods: A case study approach was used to describe the events that triggered an infectious disease emergency response in 1 ED in the southeast. Development of the case study was informed by emergency preparedness literature on Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program processes. Results: Hospital staff and administrators identified a number of factors that either positively contributed to disease containment or exacerbated conditions for disease transmission. Successes included early recognition of the potential threat, development of a multidisciplinary taskforce, and implementation of a pre-incident response plan. Challenges comprised of patient flow in crisis response, lab turnaround time, and employee records. Conclusions: The threat of exposure challenged daily operations and raised situational awareness among administrators and providers to issues that might arise during an infectious disease exposure. Recording emergency preparedness successes, remediating challenges, and sharing information with others may help minimize the threat of communicable diseases within hospital settings in the future.

scholarly journals An armed assailant in our hospital: Are we prepared?

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 712-716
Author(s):  
Sohil Pothiawala ◽  
Rabind Charles ◽  
Wai Kein Chow ◽  
Kheng Wee Ang ◽  
Karen Hsien Ling Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Mass Casualty Incident ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Incident Response ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Hospital Preparedness ◽  
Response Plan

ABSTRACT While armed assailant attacks are rare in the hospital setting, they pose a potential risk to healthcare staff, patients, visitors and the infrastructure. Singapore hospitals have well-developed disaster plans to respond to a mass casualty incident occurring outside the hospital. However, lack of an armed assailant incident response plan can significantly reduce the hospital’s ability to appropriately respond to such an incident. The authors describe various strategies that can be adopted in the development of an armed assailant incident response plan. Regular staff training will increase staff resilience and capability to respond to a potential threat in the future. The aim of this article is to highlight the need for the emergency preparedness units of all hospitals to work together with various stakeholders to develop an armed assailant incident response plan. This will be of great benefit for keeping healthcare facilities safe, both for staff as well as for the community. Keywords: Armed assailant, hospital, preparedness, response, strategies

scholarly journals Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization

Geriatrics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Margaret Danilovich ◽  
Christie Norrick ◽  
Rachel Lessem ◽  
Laura Milstein ◽  
Nikki Briggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Social Service Organizations ◽  
Work From Home

This case study analyzes one senior living and social service organization’s coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis response. We conducted interviews with n = 14 department managers to explore the organization’s pivot to remote work and service provision. We used the Pearson and Mitroff Crisis Management Framework to organize themes. A pre-existing culture of teamwork, willingness to adapt and adopt new approaches, and responsiveness to new policies and procedures facilitated the COVID-19 crisis response. However, low levels of digital literacy among staff, decreased job satisfaction due to no face-to-face interaction between care recipient and service provider, and lack of proactive policies for crisis response, which decreased the speed of enacting remote service provision, were obstacles in effective crisis response. Lessons learned from this case study highlight the need for pre-emptive policy creation on remote service provision and work from home policies, as well as training considerations for senior living and social service organizations.

Curriculum Design and Development at the Nexus of International Crisis Management and Information Systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Keith Clement
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Organizational Purpose ◽  
K 12

This case study discusses the role of education, curriculum development, research, and service in supporting information systems for crisis response management. The study describes the Council for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS) organization that designs and develops academic programs and courses in these specialized areas. CEMHS combines all levels of education in California (from K-12 and postsecondary education) into a “state-wide solution” and network of academicians and professionals in emergency and disaster management, crisis response, and homeland security education and training. The organizational purpose is constructing a “vertical track” of academic programs and specialized programs to benefit and enhance information resource and crisis management. The implications and lessons learned from building collaborative partnerships between the crisis and disaster response academic and professional communities in academic program development and research initiatives are also discussed.

scholarly journals Emergency preparedness: What is the future?

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn J. Herstein ◽  
Michelle M. Schwedhelm ◽  
Angela Vasa ◽  
Paul D. Biddinger ◽  
Angela L. Hewlett
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Emergency Plans ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Infection Preventionists

Abstract Emergency preparedness programs have evolved over the last several decades as communities have responded to natural, intentional, and accidental disasters. This evolution has resulted in a comprehensive all-hazards approach centered around 4 fundamental phases spanning the entire disaster life cycle: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Increasing frequency of outbreaks and epidemics of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the last decade has emphasized the significance of healthcare emergency preparedness programs, but the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has tested healthcare facilities’ emergency plans and exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare emergency preparedness on a scale unexperienced in recent history. We review the 4 phases of emergency management and explore the lessons to be learned from recent events in enhancing health systems capabilities and capacities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats or events, whether it be a pandemic or a single case of an unknown infectious disease. A recurring cycle of assessing, planning, training, exercising, and revising is vital to maintaining healthcare system preparedness, even in absence of an immediate, high probability threat. Healthcare epidemiologists and infection preventionists must play a pivotal role in incorporating lessons learned from the pandemic into emergency preparedness programs and building more robust preparedness plans.

Using a simulation cell for exercise realism

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Lerner, JD
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
Evaluation Program ◽  
Military Application ◽  
Reporting Process ◽  
Simulation Cell

A simulation cell or SimCell is an effective and flexible tool for control of emergency management exercises. It allows exercise participants to interact, via simulation, with a wide variety of nonplaying organizations and officials. Adapted from military application, the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) applied, developed, and refined the SimCell concept for emergency management exercises. It has now been incorporated into national exercise guidance through the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, and has been used in a wide variety of national, regional, and local exercises. This article reviews development of the SimCell concept in CSEPP, briefly surveys current practice incorporating SimCells in exercise control, and offers practical lessons-learned and tips on using a SimCell to best advantage. Lessons learned include using a SimCell as an exercise-control hub; preparing inject material for exercise controllers as part of the Master Scenario Event List; laying the groundwork for success through exercise player and controller training; developing protocol for SimCell communications; and capturing feedback from SimCell controllers for inclusion in the exercise evaluation reporting process. The SimCell concept is flexible and can be applied to a variety of exercise types and through a variety of methods.

Curriculum Design and Development at the Nexus of International Crisis Management and Information Systems

2012 ◽  
pp. 187-196
Author(s):  
Keith Clement
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Organizational Purpose

This case study discusses the role of education, curriculum development, research, and service in supporting information systems for crisis response management. The study describes the Council for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS) organization that designs and develops academic programs and courses in these specialized areas. CEMHS combines all levels of education in California (from K-12 and postsecondary education) into a “state-wide solution” and network of academicians and professionals in emergency and disaster management, crisis response, and homeland security education and training. The organizational purpose is constructing a “vertical track” of academic programs and specialized programs to benefit and enhance information resource and crisis management. The implications and lessons learned from building collaborative partnerships between the crisis and disaster response academic and professional communities in academic program development and research initiatives are also discussed.

The Wall, the Ban, and the Objectification of Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani Othman ◽  
William W. Darrow
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Immigrant Woman ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Objectification Of Women ◽  
Trump Administration

Discrimination against women and other vulnerable groups prevailed throughout the twentieth century; it persists today. This historical case study analyzes the life and times of “Typhoid Mary,” an unmarried, Irish Catholic, immigrant woman who was persecuted as an intransigent carrier of a deadly infectious disease. Being a Mexican immigrant, Muslim, or unattractive woman could condemn someone for similar mistreatment today. The failure to overcome prejudice impedes the effectiveness of public health to protect infected patients and susceptible persons from harm and to interrupt disease transmission in communities; it jeopardizes the realization of social quality. Social justice, solidarity, equal valuation, and human dignity will be achieved through resistance to the human rights violations of the Trump administration and the resilience of strong women like Mary Mallon.

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