Occupational Health Concerns
Many of the hazards occur to health workers during the hurricanes. Some of the specific hazards associated with healthcare working in hurricanes include:
Disaster Mental Health Traumatic Stress Disaster mental health is area of concern in occupational safety and health. Special attention should be paid to the stress experienced by emergency responders and disaster health workers. (CDC,2011).Van, Kovner , Raveis, McCollum, and Keller, (2014) conducted the study to explore nurses ' experience in the immediate disaster and the subsequent deployment during hurricane Sandy. The study revealed that more than 50 % of nurse participants reported the experience to be extremely or very stressful. Disaster health workers faced a particular challenges such as working in an unfamiliar environment, uncertainty about future, limited orientation, in addition to legal concerns about clinical assignments. Furthermore, the nurses who participated in
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It is important to develop programs and plans to address fatigue issues among health workers during disasters . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) had established "Guidance for Managing Worker Fatigue During Disaster Operations". According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the programs and plans that address occupational fatigue issues during disasters should have the following four components: (a) assessment of the nature of incidents and the types of work performed, (b)Identification of risk factors to which the workers can be exposed, (c) controls of different risk factors identified in the previous component. This component explain the organization’s policies, work practices, and procedures that address the issue; (d) evaluation the process that will be used to investigate the effectiveness of the controls in reducing the risk of worker fatigue(CDC,
Ethics of health care in a disaster are a major theme of the book.
The disaster of hurricane Katrina identified so many flaws in FEMA. Some of these flaws were due to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 deviated a lot of money from FEMA and weakened its ability to respond adequately to the disaster of Katrina. As you stated this bought on many changes to FEMA, which were now being addressed under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA).
The response explains the faults that took place that delayed the ability to get victims in New Orleans health care and also shows the steps that should have taken place to help the citizens in New Orleans. It begins explaining the proposals that were suggested after hurricane Katrina. There were two different policy’s, one was a bipartisan proposal from congress that aimed to provide temporary, federally funded Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals affected by the hurricane, no matter where they sought care. It would also have 800 million dollars to help uninsured victims of the hurricane. While the estimated cost of this would only be 8.9 billion.
In his book Decoded, he had mentioned Hurricane Katrina and how it affected people. This is a great example of what’s important v.s. what’s not. People were waiting for the government to do something, but it didn’t. No matter what tragic thing happens in life, it’s up to us to do something instead of waiting for other people to do it.
In Katrina’s Wake: National Guidance Throughout the history of the United States Military, historians recorded the heroic actions of Soldiers, Airman, Sailors, and Marines that won countless battles in various conflicts around the world. In modern times, the role of the military changed drastically, especially in regards to the military’s role within natural disasters. Therefore, a National Guidance of Preparedness was developed, which reinforces response readiness and provides guidelines for the sharing of responsibility between all levels of government. After a review of the actions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, federal, state, and local governments aided in the development of the guidelines, which shape and support preparedness
Facing a health crisis that deals with many of the populace involves: “respect for society, coordination of organizations and an institution with scientific weight to the people and to the media, who acted as spokesman in situations of public health risk, to get confidence citizens” (Busko). The technical capacity of health professionals “is more proven than the public officials, which suggests a greater share of the former and better training of the second” (Selby). The state of Texas has never had a crisis like this or others experiences that were similar. Crises are challenges that must be learned from both their errors and successes since they serve to bring about to the devices and improve the response to other crises. It is important to perform analysis of previous responses, and research and testing, to prepare themselves for another health crisis.
First responders play a vital role in the safety and health of our community. Putting their own life at risk, these first responders undergo some of the most stressful and life threatening situations as part of their duties. Benedek, Fullerton, and Ursano’s article states that military health care workers, public health service workers, and state, local, and volunteer first responders experience many different effects from their professions such as Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and much more. They also mentioned the use of population-based interventions and it’s positive effect on the mental wellness of first responders.
When it come to helping first responders as civilians we can not really protect them. Because we are not as well trained as they are in their particular field. Even though we can not protect them we can assist them in many ways to insure their safety. There are many ways we could assist them such as protecting the crime seen. We could also tell them what is going on in the area so they will not be injured.
Billy was just your ordinary town cop then one day while he was just cruising around town making sure everyone is following the law. While he was doing his job there was an hurricane was happening. He ran out of his car to seek protection he hid in there until it was over. The next day that it was over he went to go see if there was anyone that has survived. When he had to check if there was any survivors he realized he was the only one that survived the hurricane.
Community health nurses are prepared beforehand with their knowledge, skills, and credentialing. They reduce mortality by being current, and ready with the most up-to-date knowledge on decontamination procedures, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and advanced lifesaving procedures (Nies & McEwen, 2014). The second stage is preparedness and planning. In this stage people have training in first aid, putting together a disaster emergency kit, and possess a plan of where to meet and use communication mediums after a hurricane. Community health nurses are prepared and will reduce mortality by having plans in place, and survival kits ready to use for the work place, family, and the evacuations (Nies & McEwen, 2014).
However, this should be a learning experience that hospitals have to be more prepared for situations like this to happen. A number of factors like how the Memorial Medical Center was built was a huge problem, the power sources were vulnerable to the hurricane and were damaged. The wall 's structure of the hospitals was too weak and were able to get destroyed before help arrived. The faculty of the hospital were also in need of preparation on how to deal with the situation. We have to keep this in mind and remember that health care professionals will always have the best interest for us for our health and
The novel Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink gives an inside view of what happened at Memorial Hospital during Hurricane Katrina (2005); a disaster inside of a disaster. The lack of preparedness or ethical decision making is quite disappointing, considering Memorial hospital is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans is well below sea level, and experiences frequent hurricanes and flooding. Memorial hospital itself had little to no plan for evacuating patients once the storm hit. Without power, many of the patients, especially those who were ventilator dependent, became at risk of death.
This is a review of Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900-2000 by Claire B. Rubin (2012), chapters one and two. Over the past two centuries, there has been a remarkable series of disasters that have shaped the field of emergency management. In these two chapters, Rubin (2012) presents the overview and evolution of significant disasters that have collectively shaped the United States (U.S.) government’s emergency management and response. Additionally, Rubin (2012) specifically focuses on the response of emergency management. Historically, the earliest and most significant instance of federal involvement in emergency management dates back to 1803, when the New Hampshire town of Portsmouth was devastated by fire. In response
The cool breeze coming off of the Intracoastal waterways makes the outside patio of Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant refreshing even in the scorching summer heat. This also makes it a prime location for the upcoming Summer Sizzle which will commemorate the restaurant’s 20th anniversary. While the landscape around the raw bar has changed over the years this staple on Ocean Avenue has remained consistent in providing patrons with a welcoming place to grab a bite to eat or connect with friends. I recently had a chance to sit down with the Kim Kelly, owner of Hurricane Alley, to discuss what this monumental occasion means to her. At first encounter Kelly comes off as a no nonsense, tell it like it is business owner, which undeniable she is, but after speaking with the self-made woman for only a few minutes I realized that she is also probably the most genuine and humble business professionals that I have ever encountered.
A hurricane is one of, if not the most dangerous natural disaster. It has affected humans in many ways over the centuries, causing us to have to adapt to survive. Scientists are constantly studying hurricanes to learn more about how they work and how to better predict and mitigate damage. The formation of a hurricane is very complex with many conditions that need to be met in order for it to properly form.