Analyzing Memorandum of Understanding Between The American National Red Cross and State of Maryland

The Red Cross is built to aide in disaster relief, but to receive a phone call asking “Where is the Red Cross?” from the Pentagon to activate the specialized teams in response to 9/11 left scars on the ARC's permanent record that are hard to overcome

Organizations over the past few decades have come to realize two things, there are a limited number of people in the government that are able to respond to natural disasters or large scale disaster effectively and that the government only has so many available resources to offer during a time of crisis. Another fact is, that private sector companies and non-profit entities, such as the Red Cross, have the ability to be more prepared due to their vast network of stores and distribution centers and their leisure, they indeed do have a unique responsibility

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would become the central point-of-contact within the national government in responding to incidents. Since formation in 1979, FEMA’s core missions were to enhance the government’s ability to survive a foreign attack, and to assist state and local authorities in disaster response (Carafano, 2005). And while the two core missions seem heterogenous in scope at times from an outside perspective, the biggest difference between the two tasks is duration. A man-made disaster may be over in a matter of minutes as compared to a hurricane lasting several days, but in both instances the road to recovery is long. In order to streamline response and recovery in either scenario, FEMA was reorganized with new directives to support comprehensive emergency management practices (CRS, 2006). Today, FEMA provides the standard approach and guidance that many local communities may not have due to funding, training, and

Local protective measure planning equips first responders with the knowledge needed to organize efficient response results in the event of an emergency. Structured open dialogue between local emergency jurisdictions enables responders to delegate the appropriate individuals and equipment resources to the impacted local areas requiring the most aid following a terror event. By establishing a streamlined communication framework, local emergency responders can collaborate their efforts and resources to promote collective well-being. When a local emergency plan specifies what responders and resources belong where and at what time, response overlap and shortages can be avoided. Unionized response action established prior to a terrorist incident, serves to mitigate the risks, hazards and threat of injury or harm the people and property of the US face when a terrorism event occurs. Furthermore, a structured local emergency operations plan for a hazardous materials incident involving a terrorist is imperative to public health and safety, as the blueprint outlines protective measures the public can follow to minimize their exposure to dangerous substances. The people of a community affected by a terror event can be warned and notified of the event’s associated dangerous materials, which threaten their well-being, through a variety of methods such as warning sirens or horns, emergency alert systems, automated

Many Americans watching the Government response to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina as it play out in the media could not believe the finger pointing that was going on between our elected leaders as many victims struggled to get their life in order. With the National Response Framework initial responsibility remains with the local elected officials and each level of the government above that will monitor and remain ready with assistance if requested. This will allow needed resources to get where they are needed without the internal bickering of the past. The Emergency Support Function Annexes within the National Response Framework ensures multi-agency interoperability and encompasses the other components of the NRF.

Supplies could be needed in one area, but without communication that area might not be able to reach out for those supplies. Communication amongst first responders is important for information sharing, so that information can flow between different jurisdictions and agencies. When looking at the efforts of first responders, communication is the one constant variable, which without communication all efforts would be in vain. (Newman & Clarke, 2008) The National Incident Management System (NIMS) places an emphasis on the importance of communication when dealing with response efforts. The National Incident Management System shows how having a unified command systems can benefit the response efforts to disaster. However, without proper and efficient communication, a unified command system cannot proceed efficiently.

The center for health issues played a key role in improving the level of emergency preparedness in northeast Ohio by working with area hospitals to increase their capacity and capacity to respond and recover from natural disasters and be human made.

Mutual aid agreements are essential for allocating resources, equipment, and personnel between jurisdictions through intrastate, interstate, private organizations, and nongovernmental organizations agencies in the event of an emergency situation that exceeds the capabilities of the local agencies. Intrastate agencies mobilized by a mutual aid agreement consist of resources within the state that can provide support to the requesting department. During catastrophic events, interstate sources activated through a mutual aid agreement are comprised of resources from other states that are able to support the operations required when state resources are incapable of providing adequate aid. Private-sector organizations, nonprofit organizations, and nongovernmental organizations provide additional support in times of crisis when the organization has necessary resources to sustain operations. Emergency situations that may arise and benefit from the resources established in an existing mutual aid agreement include mass casualty incidents, fire and law enforcement situations, natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, and terrorist attacks.

“A disaster is an event that is a natural or man-made occurrence that can disrupt or destroy the lives of those it affects” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). “Management of a disaster includes four phases; prevention, preparedness, response and recovery” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). To date there have been 154 hospital-based shootings, which resulted in 235 dead or injured. (C.Catlett, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to identify emergency preparedness and response to hospital based shootings, and the role of the public health nurse in such a disaster.

An Initial recommendation determined that all local and state governments work together to develop one set of state protocols utilized during a crisis. These protocols would be implemented by all responding or involved agencies during a county or state crisis declaration. As with any area, territories and boundaries are a major issue. Without a clear, concise directive, the different state and local police agency jurisdictions may handle this combined protocol. However, the assortment of EMS agencies within my direct surrounding area would certainly have issues as to who establishes the EMS incident command. Unfortunately, there are still too many boundaries that even lower scale multi-victim motor vehicle accidents have previously caused friction between responding agencies.

In the past, the Red Cross Association has dealt with controversy from its corrupt leadership to its reputation surrounding possible fraud. O.C. Ferrell, John Fraedrich and Linda Ferrell (2015) defines the American Red Cross (ARC) as an independent organization who’s mission is to “provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015). In recent news, Hurricane Matthew made its way to the United States in October 2016. The category 4 storm was expected to damage the Southeast coast of the United States including Florida and South Carolina (Bacon, 2016). While many residents took precautions and acknowledged the state of emergencies that were put into place,

Continuing on the issue of communication and perception, in a published article, (AACN BOLD VOICES), 2012 Jan; 4(1): 17, “ Red Cross Removes Practice Barriers to Nurse’s Role During Disaster. A change in American Red Cross policy allows nurses the practice flexibility they need to use all their skills and training when treating patients in disaster situations. They said within the chaos that can occur during a disaster, no amount of written material can address every health situation that may arise, Red Cross chief nurse Sharon Stanley says in the article. The nurse-led disaster health services community response model allows the Red Cross health team to provide the best in care while partnering with community health care systems on the ground to better address disaster client needs, she adds. Giving nurses flexibility in such situations better enables them to work with people

This information will be used to establish priorities and develop an incident action plan. Resources and capabilities are employed based on the size, scope, nature and complexity of the incident. Should the disaster exceed the local governments, they would request assistance through mutual aid and assistance agreements, the State, or the Federal Government. Mutual aid agreements establish the roles and responsibilities of both parties, the procedures for requesting assistance and communication protocols.

The purpose for this Disaster Recovery Plan is to primarily maintain all of the information and material appropriate to the initiative’s ability to survive a disaster, and to document all the phases that the initiative will take if a disaster does occur. The first priority of the TC-MACT if a disaster does occur is to prevent the loss of lives. In order to move to the second step, we must guarantee all personnel and other members on the premises are safe and secure. Once we can guarantee the safety of individuals, the next objective of the TC-MACT will be to ratify the steps outlined in this DRP to bring all of the agencies, groups and departments back to business-as-usual as quickly as possible. Although CERT programs vary in some ways, they all share the potential to offer significant benefits to their sponsoring organizations, their communities and their citizens. As with any activity, there is risk.

The response to any emergency is considered to be very critical and therefore should be as efficient as possible. In the healthcare sector, responses to situations are counted by the seconds. From natural disasters to epidemics, the only chance left to respond to any of this occurrence could only be counted in seconds. That means life is either saved or lost in a matter of seconds. Putting in place certain responses to these unexpected occurrences, such as crises management communication plan, help save lives and arrest crises from aggravating. Failure to have crises management communication plan is considered by many commentators to be a crisis in itself. Accepted medical care is highly dependent on effective communication between healthcare providers and the patients; among healthcare providers and the outside world. The characteristics of crises make it necessary for prior planning and effective communication among stakeholders in the health sector (Klaene and Sanders, 2006; Ronen, 2006).