The World Health Organization Defines An Event As A Disaster

Fires, Hurricanes, Floods Tsunamis are environmental catastrophes that can change a person‘s life. Victims of environmental catastrophes are among the homeless populations. These victims may feel feeling powerless and confused, having lost the structure of their daily lives and routines. As a human service professional I may be able to get my client settled in a temporary shelter, get them involved in a support group for emotional support, Food, Clothing Financial aid Housing assistance and education about psychological impact of disaster.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recognizes active shooters as a threat to healthcare facilities and encourages them to incorporate planning and preparedness into their emergency operation plans. A guide was developed, and backed by the DHS, FBI, US Department of Justice, and Federal Emergency Management Agency, focused on prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery, as well as stressing the importance of plans

Disaster is anything that can occur causing damages, an ecological disruption and deterioration of health and the health services. Disaster can be manmade or natural disasters such as floods. When disasters like flooding or tornadoes that may be accompanied by floods occur, the public health personnel and public health nurses are normally the first people who respond to the emergency, given that they are the people who understand and know the available resources used in providing first aids to the affected victims.

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

The impact of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in August 2005 had catastrophic implications to the healthcare infrastructure in portions of coastal and southern Mississippi, including hospitals being closed due to severe damage. The healthcare response system of the time relied almost exclusively on support resources from the federal government (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2010). By design, these teams were not able to support the local healthcare system for several days, leaving a void of services for the citizens that were hardest hit by the storm. Also during this time, the healthcare system of Mississippi faced several other critical challenges including the need for rapid assessment of impacted facilities, movement of patients between hospitals, and coordination of emergency medical services (Darsey, 2013). It is important to note that the disruption of the healthcare system resulted in challenges associated with a vulnerable population’s normal routine being severely disrupted. Additional complicating factors were a high incidence of exacerbation of chronic illnesses due to environmental conditions, loss of medications, emotional stressors, and other causes associated with the interruption of their normal level of care (Currier, King, Wofford, Daniel, & deShazo, 2006). These response challenges, coupled with the void in timely healthcare services, led to the creation of the State Medical Response System (SMRS) of Mississippi.

In the event of a disaster, the community relies upon the public health personnel to evaluate the needs of the community, assess the available resources, provide reliable information, and coordinate health activities. It is essential that local health workers are trained professionals who are reassuring and organized to address health, social, cultural and material concerns of the community. Local health personnel coordinate social services, transportation, available health services, volunteers, outside assistance, public utilities and rescue work (HELP, 1989).

The various local, state, and federal emergency management systems of the United States suffered a crude awakening in the decade of the 2000s. Systems expected to hold up were put to the test and failed to prepare for disaster, mitigate the damage, and, in some instances, actually hampered responses in life-or-death situations. Worse, all failings were highlighted in an age of global communication and mass media, on display first whether a man-made incident like September 11th attacks or natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. The decade found the complacent government failing to maintain modern emergency management practices, stimulating began a series of doctrinal upgrades and training improvements. Yet, no matter the bureaucracy, writings, or money thrown at a problem, the first responder to the incident has and will continue to influence the outcome. While the individual responder stands as the most important part of

Local, state, and federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private-sector partners in Boston were all involved in helping to develop plans to define the certain roles and responsibilities for everyone during the Boston Marathon. Along with developing the plans for what to do, they also conducted exercises in order to test the plans out and see how well communication and coordination is during these large-scale events. While doing more research on how this emergency planning goes down, I came across a term I had never heard of before known as a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI). The Emergency Medical Care Advisory Board defines a Mass Casualty Incident as “one in which the number of people killed or injured in a single incident is large enough to strain or overwhelm the resources of local EMS providers.” The Boston Marathon bombing event definitely classified as a MCI and during the emergency response to the bombings, the performance from the response teams easily demonstrated the benefits of all the planning and test exercises they were doing prior to the

and Dentistry and Director of the Program in Disaster Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry and the UR Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency Preparedness. For over a decade, he has responded to numerous national disasters as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. He has also developed comprehensive disaster mental health training programs for the New York State Office of Mental Health and the New York State Department of Health currently being disseminated throughout every county, state psychiatric center and acute healthcare facility throughout New York State.

military’s vast experience in responding to and managing casualties from IED and/or active shooter incidents and from its significant investment in combat casualty care research into the civilian first responder environment” (DHS, First Responder Guide. 2015). In order to improve safety in response to terror events, especially those classified as international terrorism it will require that first responders to further prepare for a vast variety of potential threats. The focus of this increased preparation should not only regard the safe and effective responses of first responders to all potential hazards caused by a terrorist event; but should also include the improvement of first responder’s connections to their communities, the gathering of intelligence, information sharing, and realizing their role in domestic defense of the United States of America.

Natural and man-made disasters have increased in the past decade, and due to these changes, Emergency Managers had to make drastic changes in order to improve the way first responders operate in a disaster area.

Whenever a disaster strikes an unsuspecting community, from natural weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes to the manmade catastrophes caused by contamination, local community health nurses become a lifeline for stricken victims, providing medical care, basic sanitation, and nutritional sustenance. While treating the ailments of the sick and dressing the wounds of the injured are the chief priorities for any nursing professional, community health nurses typically administer care within a close-knit population group, and this familiarity often requires the offering of spiritual support as well. The immediate aftermath of any major disaster, whether natural or manmade, is a chaotic time when panic, fear, and uncertainty can easily run rampant, and community health nurses must prepare themselves to handle the nonmedical aspects of assisting patients through their recovery. Setting aside one's personal views on organized religion or faith, alleviating a patient's outward symptoms can only be effective to a certain point when they are grieving for the sudden loss of a loved one, or contemplating an uncertain future after their property and

An emergency is a severe, sudden and sometimes risky circumstances requiring urgent action (Salman Sawalha, 2014). Escalation of an emergency situation can lead to disaster; which is an unusual event that can cause lost of life and property (Salman Sawalha, 2014). International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRRCS) define disaster as “unexpected devastating events that disrupts the operations of a population or public which leads to huge losses and overwhelmed the affected community 's ability to respond to the situation with the resources they have at hand”. There are two main types of disaster that can lead to emergency situations; these include natural and man-made disasters.

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

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