Answer the questions in Bold - Essay Example

Integration and Coordination of Emergency Health Care Here Here Here Here Integration and Coordination of Emergency Health Care The importance of emergency preparedness cannot be understated, as was demonstrated by recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the Tohoku tsunami, and the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. These events were undeniably tragic, but the results would have been significantly worse if not for assistance of many disaster response teams. A variety of groups offer such services, including those run by the federal government, state governments, local communities, and professional organizations.

Units managed by each level are individually vital and sometimes have specialized skills in addition to general capabilities that are found in most emergency response groups. A single level of provider, or individual teams within a level, can provide assistance when others are unavailable or inappropriate. Responses appear to have improved since 2001 (Inglesby, 2011), but there are still concerns that need to be addressed. As the scale of a disaster increases, so does the involvement of multiple groups.

The call for coordination begins at the instant that more than one team is attending to an emergency. Without properly integrating available services, there is little chance of providing the best possible assistance to those affected by the situation. Poorly strategized emergency services will cause overlaps and gaps in the allocation of personnel (Born et al., 2011). This deficiency would result in victims not receiving the appropriate help when it should otherwise be available (Geale, 2012).

Poor skills management is also possible within a single unit, but is exponentially damaging as more teams become part of the system. Higher levels of emergency response will be activated as the situation increases in severity and, usually, in geographic impact. The damage caused by the faulty management of disaster assistance is severe when it occurs throughout high-level supervising authorities. The regular evaluation of these systems is a necessary step to ensure the minimization of losses due to emergency situations.

The integration of emergency services at multiple levels is adequately but not perfectly supported by current United States policies. Local officials and organizations handle most emergencies, limiting the complexity of cooperative management and allowing for familiarity to develop between providers. When the state becomes involved it takes control of the operation while supporting and coordinating community efforts, which is appropriate given the duties and capabilities of state governments.

Federal intervention is only required for the most threatening disasters and follows a different approach than states. The federal government has impressive abilities, but controlling a country-wide emergency response as a single supervisory body is appropriately recognized as a poor strategy due to the immensity of the task as compared to the relatively small federal body. Instead, the state remains in control of their own efforts, while the national representatives provide support to all other levels.

This process is standardized through the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Unfortunately, neither this nor other pieces of legislature provide a definitive testable system for the coordination and integration of levels and groups of emergency service responders. As a health care administrator, I believe it would be vital to ensure that all employees are familiar with the applicable emergency response standards, and that coordination within institution departments is continually evaluated and optimized.

It is also necessary to become familiar with potential local sources of integration during a disaster, and to help strengthen the local management process when possible. Additionally, I would lobby for more government investigation and support of thorough service integration systems. One suggestion could involve building from the All-Hazard framework that is already in place, with a focus on coordination strategies that are applicable in any potential emergency situation. ReferencesBorn, C. T.

, Cullison, T. R., Dean, J. A., Hayda, R. A., McSwain, N., Riddles, L. M., & Shimkus, A. J. (2011). Partnered disaster preparedness: lessons learned from international events. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 19(suppl 1), S44- S48.Geale, K. S. (2012). The Ethics of Disaster Management. Disaster Prevention and Management, 21(4), 4-4.Inglesby, T. V. (2011). Progress in Disaster Planning and Preparedness Since 2001. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 306(12), 1372-1373.