Emergency And Disaster Response Paper

Problems resulting from disasters linger for quite some time after the acute phase in a disaster and victims may have issues arise that they were not aware of initially. Community health nurses are often a primary point of contact for many of these situations and must be prepared for various problems. Sometimes, they are called on to simply reassure the victim that they are not alone in the situation and that help will continue to come. When a nurse allows a victim to discuss their concerns, the nurse can quickly expedite referrals to the appropriate area if it is out of their scope of practice. Occasionally, just having the validation and reassurance from a professional instills hope that things will get better soon. In the situation where the

One of the most intense, costliest, and deadliest hurricanes to impact the United States was Hurricane Katrina, a category 4 storm, in 2005 (Blake, Landsea, & Gibney, 2011). The National Hurricane Center estimates that 1200 deaths occurred as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina. Almost half of the victims were aged 74 years or older. Factors such as lack of evacuation facilities, infirmities and disabilities that make evacuation difficult or impossible, and higher levels of poverty and social isolation increase older individuals’ vulnerability

The disaster assessment and planning guide tool was used to assess the potential for disasters in this area and to assess the adequacy of the current plan in place for potential disasters. The population considered to be most vulnerable to the effects of a disaster would be children, seniors and persons with chronic health issues, in the current population there are 6.5% under the age of 5, and 24% under

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. According to FEMA, its mission is to “support United States citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards” (FEMA, 2015). Some of FEMA’s primary goals and objectives in regards to natural disasters include providing timely disaster response and assistance to affected areas, utilizing federal capabilities to aid state and local governments in recovery efforts, and to minimize the overall suffering felt by natural disasters. FEMA also assist state, tribal and local governments through

Within the first chapter of Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication (2001), there were many things that caught my attention. Prior to the reading, I hadn’t thought about how different disaster preparedness would affect the elderly population, and how much consideration and planning is needed for them compared to the general population. I also wasn’t aware that such a high percentage of the elderly population developed chronic diseases. It would, however, make sense for the elderly population to require different treatment for these chronic diseases, and have different reactions to these diseases than the rest of the general population (Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication, 2014).

TENNYSON, DONNA and IFY DIALA. "Case Study on Hurricane Sandy Survivors Experience." Scholedge International Journal of Multidisciplinary & Allied Studies, vol. 3, no. 3, Mar. 2016, pp. 67-75. EBSCOhost, doi:10.19085/journal.sijmas030301

Individuals living in Long Term Care facilities are among the most vulnerable of populations during a disaster. Many lessons have been learned from devastations like Hurricane Katrina, Rita, and Wilma that occurred in 2005 in regards to the disaster preparedness levels of Long Term Care Facilities (LTC).

People who have lost everything and potential risk going hungry while grieving would need their basic needs meet first. For someone who has a home one day and then has nothing would need to have a stable place to lay their head down and keep their family safe. A community who has suffered a huge loss will need support getting back on track which would take time. This could increase ones emotional reactivity because they do not know what they are going to do in the time begin about their basic need. When someone’s basic needs are not met then their emotional suffering like PTSD, anxiety and depression can last longer. Once a person basic needs are met then they are start to work on their mental health concerns. One article pointed out that we need to take in account a

Basic disaster assistance falls into three categories as specified by the Federal government: assistance for individuals and businesses, public assistance, and hazard mitigation assistance. The scope of this paper will cover the analysis of the elements of eligibility for disaster assistance and will follow up with a conclusion about the Public Assistance Process, utilizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Guide as the major resource for information.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4124816/ withholding of patients in the nationwide ART program had been an apprehension prior to the earthquake, with mortality or loss following up about 35% of patients joined on ART, and this fretfulness intensified succeeding the earthquake. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4124816/ It has been renowned in natural disasters in other locations that patients with lingering illness’s can go through health educational services due to physical effects of trauma, new mental health issues including serious anxiety, despair, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as disruption in self-management tactics as they deal with individual losses and disturbances in habitual health

Any time that the federal agency that responds to disaster events handles such situations there is likely to be a significant loss of life due to the disaster event. This makes a requirement that responders know how to deal with the psychological issues and challenges that are present. It is reported that mental and behavioral health, "in the context of disasters and emergencies, include a wide range of interrelated factors psychological (emotional, cognitive, behavioral), psychological and social that influence people's ability to cope with and recover from extreme situations." (Disaster Mental Health Subcommittee of the National Biodefense Science Board, 2010, p.4) Stated as examples of such issues are those of "fear and anxiety resulting from safety concerns, the death of loved ones, separation from family members and uncertainty as to their fate, and loss of homes and possessions; noncompliance with government directives resulting from loss of confidence in authorities; breakdown in community social

The guide presents strategies for managing disaster risks such as flooding, earthquakes, water shortages, windstorms, and pandemic flu. People with disability are grouped into four categories: sensory, physical, self-care, and go-outside-the-home.

I agree with you that the elderly needs extra attention when evacuation plans come into play. Due to decrease in mobility and the need for extra equipment, the elderly needs more help with getting to a safe and secure place. Nursing home/ independent living facility need to have well-organized evacuation plans in the case of an emergency and routinely change the plans to accommodate the number of residents. Their survival greatly depends on an efficiency of the plan. The impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed a need for improvement strategies and a better understanding of how disaster plans need to be adapted to meet the needs of the elderly population in nursing homes (Dobalian, Claver & Fickel, 2010). Hopefully, this study will provoke future research on new and improved evacuation procedures not just for the elderly but all vulnerable groups.

As global climate continues to change, emergency managers must prepare communities around the world for frequent catastrophic focusing events. Specific disasters vary from location to location; consequently, many emergency preparedness plans in many jurisdictions are ineffective. As a result, government officials and emergency managers under evaluate and wrongly assess areas of vulnerability. I present some of the special needs groups that emergency managers can include in vulnerability assessments. Lastly, I explain how emergency managers can collect resources to create concrete assessments for responding effectively to vulnerable populations before and after disasters.

Every emergency or disaster, from a small house fire to a hurricane that devastates entire communities, have a distinct cycle. This is