Nursing Disaster Definition - Essay Example

NURSING DISASTER Name: Institution Affiliation: NURSING DISASTER Question 1 According to World Health Organization (WHO), disaster is “any occurrence that causes damage, economic disruption, loss of human life and deterioration in health and health services on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected area or community” (WHO, 2015). This means that any event that can be either from the internal or external environment and meet the above conditions are considered as disasters to the healthcare sector. Another definition states that disaster is “When the destructive effects of nature or manmade forces overwhelm the ability of a given area/community to meet the demand for healthcare” (Braun at al., 2014). Question 2 There are several types of disasters that affect the healthcare sector. There are two main categories of disasters. The first category or type are the disasters that are caused by human beings and the second category is those that are caused by natural events. These disasters caused by natural causes can be categorized into two namely; sudden occurrence monocausal and progressive occurrence multicausal. Examples of sudden occurrence monocausal include storm, earthquake, and volcanic eruptions. Examples of progressive occurrence multicausal include flood, drought, and landslide. On the other hand, disasters caused by human include environmental pollution, explosion, and structural collapse (Swayne, Duncan, & Ginter, 2012). Question 3 One of the most significant impact of disasters in healthcare is that it negatively affects the community, people, and infrastructure. For instance, in a case of occurrence of earthquake several lives are lost. This means that several patients in a healthcare facility can be lost. As well, the community surrounding the healthcare facility will also be affected. Disasters also lead to the destruction of property such as buildings and machinery. In the long run, these disasters will affect healthcare service. For instance, healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses will not be in a position to deliver their services effectively without the required facilities. As such, healthcare service will be negatively affected (Swayne, Duncan, & Ginter, 2012). It is imperative to note that disasters also can lead to death, injury, and disability to the healthcare sector. This means that all the stakeholders such as patients, healthcare professionals, and others. This can contribute to the healthcare facility’s inability to provide effective and efficient services. Question 4 According to WHO, hazard is “a natural or human-made event that threatens to adversely Affects human life, property or activity to the extent of causing a disaster” (WHO, 2015). It is profound to note that there are both internal and external hazards that affect the safety of a hospital. Internal hazards are categorized into two namely structural and functional hazards. Structural hazards affect the buildings, electricity, oxygen supply and related things. This means that hazards such as electric faults can substantially affect the safety of the hospital. On the other hand, functional hazards include issues such as strikes and surge of patients. The hospital needs to have strategies and plans to ensure that technicians to ensure that internal hazards such as electric faults are prevented. In addition to the above, the hospital management must ensure that employees welfare is enhanced to avoid strike actions (McCullough, 2012). Examples of external hazards include floods, earthquakes, and other mass incident casualties. One way of preparing and planning for such disasters is to install equipment such as earthquake sensors. They play a vital role in warning against impeding disasters. Question 5 There is no time a hospital is fully safe from disasters. This is because disasters happen without a warning or anyone’s plans. However, there are situations whereby a hospital can be considered as safe. One of the most significant instances is when the hospital has all the necessary resources to counter or respond to disasters. For instance, when the hospital management has purchased all the necessary resources it is a show that incases of disaster the response will be effective. Another instance whereby a hospital can be considered safe when they have an effective disaster management and response team. This team should consist of skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced professionals regarding disaster management. Finally, a hospital can be considered safe if they have a proper disaster risk management framework. Such a framework should effectively cover issues such as emergency response, rehabilitation, reconstructions, disaster mitigation, and preparedness (Macrae, 2014). Question 6 The Hospital Safety Index (HSI) is one of the tools that’s assists health organizations measure and assess their safety and ensure that they avoid being a victim of various disasters. One of the significant benefits of HSI is that it offers a view of the potential of the health organization to operate in cases of emergencies. This probability of operating is measured in three dimensions namely; functional, structural, and nonstructural factors. The determination of the HSI score enables the decision makers to have a clear idea of the capability of responding to emergency situations. However, it is crucial to note that HIS cannot replace vulnerability studies. It is just preferred since it is cheap and easy to conduct (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2012). As well, conducting HSI is one of the most applied ways of managing risks that a hospital can face. This means that the level of safety within a given healthcare facility can be measured and assessed over time. There are various steps that are used in calculating Hospital Safety Index. One of the most common and crucial steps is to ensure that the evaluators used the standardized and recommended Safe Hospital Checklist in evaluating the level of safety. Ones done, the scores are validated and fed into a scoring calculator (Hick at al., 2014). Question 7 The first benefit of Hospital Safety Index is that it enables the decision makers to make effective decisions concerning the healthcare facility. For instance, the hospital management can assess the safety index and make a decision such as to purchase emergency response resources. The second importance of HIS is that it enables the hospital management to assess its risks over a given period. Such information is useful in ensuring that risks are managed in an effective and efficient manner. The third importance of HIS is that it is considered as a cheap and easy method when compared to vulnerability studies. This means that this is an advanced a new technique that is broadly applied in managing various risks that can adversely affect the successful operations of a healthcare facility (Gapenski & Pink, 2013). Question 8 Safe Hospital Checklist is one of the tools that is utilized by the evaluation team carrying out the Hospital Safety Index. The checklist should entail all the areas of the hospital that can be potential to risks. The check list plays a vital role in the calculation of the Hospital Safety Index. Consideration of all the areas in the hospital's checklists categories a hospital based on safety into three main groups. The first group (Group A), are the healthcare organizations that are considered as capable of protecting life as per the safety index. This means that a healthcare organization placed in this group can operate effectively despite the disastrous situation. The second group (Group B) are the health organizations that are in apposition to resist disasters, but vital services and facilities are at high risk. Finally, the last group (Group C) are the organizations that are considered as risky incases of disasters (Benedek, Fullerton & Ursano, 2013). Question 9 Emergency and disaster components are of two types. The first type is the evaluation forms which includes form 1 and 2. Form 1 entails the overall information that concerns the healthcare organization. Some of the information contained in the form include the healthcare organization’s level of complexity, professionals, and specialty care. On the other hand, form 2 contains the safe hospital checklist. The second category of the emergency and disaster components is the evaluator’s guide. This is the main tool used in training concerning disasters and related activities (Shoaf & Rotiman, 2013). Question 10 A disaster plan is one of the most crucial and important tools in disaster management. It is profound to note that disaster planning is a continuous process for a healthcare facility. These plans must be structured and properly written to ensure that they can be applied and implemented effectively. In addition to the above, disaster plans should be dynamic to ensure that any changes that can occur can be incorporated as fast as possible. There are several strategies that can be implemented to ensure that disaster plans are effective. The first strategy is that these plans should be exercised regularly by all the stakeholders in a healthcare facility (Noji, 2015). It is also worth noting that disaster plans should be regularly reviewed and amended to ensure that any issues that can arise can be reflected immediately. In disaster planning process, people must work together, identify hazards, and assess the vulnerabilities of the hospital. References Braun, B. I., Wineman, N. V., Finn, N. L., Barbera, J. A., Schmaltz, S. P., & Loeb, J. M. (2014). Integrating hospitals into community emergency preparedness planning. Annals of internal medicine, 144(11), 799-811. Benedek, D. M., Fullerton, C., & Ursano, R. J. (2013). First Responders: Mental Health Consequences of Natural and Human-Made Disasters for Public Health and Public Safety Workers*. Annual. Rev. Public Health, 28, 55-68. Gapenski, L. C., & Pink, G. H. (2013). Understanding healthcare financial management. Health Administration Press. Hick, J. L., Hanfling, D., Burstein, J. L., DeAtley, C., Barbisch, D., Bogdan, G. M., & Cantrill, S. (2014). Health care facility and community strategies for patient care surge capacity. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 44(3), 253-261. Macrae, C. (2014). 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