Hospital Preparation For Bioterror

Hospital Preparation for Bioterror provides an extremely timely guide to improving the readiness of hospitals or healthcare organizations to manage mass casualties as a result of bioterrorism, biological warfare, and natural disasters. Contributions from leading law enforcement agencies, hospital administrators, clinical engineers, surgeons and terror-prevention professionals provide the most comprehensive, well-rounded source for this valuable information. Chapters on logistics and protecting the infrastructure help personnel distinguish the specific risks and vulnerabilities of each unique institution and assists in identifying specific solutions for disaster and bioterrorism preparedness. Principles and techniques discussed are applicable to all disasters, both large and small, not just bioterrorism. Technical aspects such as hospital power and telecommunications are covered, in addition to patient care, response to mass casualties, large-scale drills, and surge capacity. Organized along functional lines, patient flow, medical specialty, and infrastructure. A complimentary website with supplementary materials, check-lists, and references enhances the text and provides additional resources for preparedness.

Hospital Preparation for Bioterror provides an extremely timely guide to improving the readiness of hospitals or healthcare organizations to manage mass casualties as a result of bioterrorism, biological warfare, and natural disasters. Contributions from leading law enforcement agencies, hospital administrators, clinical engineers, surgeons and terror-prevention professionals provide the most comprehensive, well-rounded source for this valuable information. Chapters on logistics and protecting the infrastructure help personnel distinguish the specific risks and vulnerabilities of each unique institution and assists in identifying specific solutions for disaster and bioterrorism preparedness. ·Principles and techniques discussed are applicable to all disasters, both large and small, not just bioterrorism ·Technical aspects such as hospital power and telecommunications are covered, in addition to patient care, response to mass casualties, large-scale drills, and surge capacity. ·Organized along functional lines, patient flow, medical specialty, and infrastructure ·A complimentary website with supplementary materials, check-lists, and references enhances the text and provides additional resources for preparedness.

In the battle against bioterrorism, one of the greatest challenges is finding the ideal balance between complacency and overreaction. The goal is to be so well prepared that we can prevent catastrophic outcomes in the event of a bioterrorist attack, while strengthening our ability to prevent and treat naturally-occurring infectious diseases.Bioterr

In response to the terrorism incidents of September 2001, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services, requested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) survey hospitals regarding their preparedness for treating patients from bioterrorism attacks or mass casualty incidents. It provided funding to field a special supplement to the 2003 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Data from the 2003 NHAMCS supplement will serve as a baseline for hospital terrorism preparedness because there were no major funding programs directed toward hospitals for this purpose prior to the start of the Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in fiscal year (FY) 2002. Even these funds had not yet been fully awarded to hospitals at the time this survey was fielded in 2003. Prior to the inception of the HRSA program, the Domestic Preparedness Program of the Department of Defense had not allocated any funding for hospitals, although it funded emergency response agencies.

With the increased concern about bioterrorism -- whether chemical, biological or radiological -- there is an emphasis on hospital preparedness for serious mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). And even though The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) began requiring hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) as part of its environment of care program when it revised the emergency management standards in January 2001, most hospitals have not yet developed adequate emergency plans either because of monetary concerns or confusion about the best way to get started.

Bioterrorism in Medical and Healthcare Administration provides an efficient method to identify, manage, and control transformations in the provision of health services during elevated levels of bioterrorist threat - offering step-by-step procedures and templates to prepare and implement a coordinated response to high-alert situations. This reference proposes an efficient method to identify, manage, and control transformations in the provision of health services during elevated levels of bioterrorist threat - offering step-by-step procedures and templates to prepare and implement a coordinated response to high-alert situations.