Assessing hospital preparedness using an instrument based on the Mass Casualty Disaster Plan Checklist: Results of a statewide survey (original) (raw)

A Pilot Assessment of Hospital Preparedness for Bioterrorism Events

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 2006

Objective:Lessons on question content and refinement of a 2003 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-Health Resources Services Administration (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-Health Resources Services) pilot hospital preparedness assessment tool designed to capture activities in more detail than previous studies are reported in this study.Methods:Responses from fixed-choice questions, including organizational and geographical differences, were analyzed using the chi-square test. Openended questions were evaluated qualitatively.Results:Of the respondents, 91% had developed plans and 97% designated a bio-event coordinator, but only 47% had allocated funds. Urban hospitals were more likely to participate in regional infectious disease monitoring. Hospitals that participated in a network were more likely to fund preparedness, share bio-event coordinators and medical directors, and provide advanced training.Conclusions:Several issues deserve further study: (1) hospital ne...

Assessing Levels of Hospital Emergency Preparedness

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 2006

Introduction:Emergency preparedness can be defined by the preparedness pyramid, which identifies planning, infrastructure, knowledge and capabilities, and training as the major components of maintaining a high level of preparedness.The aim of this article is to review the characteristics of contingency plans for mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) and models for assessing the emergency preparedness of hospitals.Characteristics of Contingency Plans:Emergency preparedness should focus on community preparedness, a personnel augmentation plan, and communications and public policies for funding the emergency preparedness. The capability to cope with a MCI serves as a basis for preparedness for non-conventional events. Coping with chemical casualties necessitates decontamination of casualties, treating victims with acute stress reactions, expanding surge capacities of hospitals, and integrating knowledge through drills. Risk communication also is important.Assessment of Emergency Preparedness:...

Hospital Planning for Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents

21st Century Management: A Reference Handbook, 2008

As terrorists attacks increase in frequency, hospital disaster plans need to be scrutinized to ensure that they take into account issues unique to weapons of mass destruction. This paper reports a review of the literature addressing hospital experiences with such incidents and the planning lessons thus learned. Construction of hospital disaster plans is examined as an ongoing process guided by the disaster planning committee.

Hospital Disaster Preparedness in the United States: New issues, New Challenges

The Internet Journal of Rescue and Disaster Medicine, 2005

Disasters are typically viewed as low probability yet high impact events. Although various definitions have been used, a disaster is frequently viewed as a situation in which the number of patients presenting to the medical facility within a given time period exceed the ability of the hospital to provide care without external assistance. As such, the definition is institution specific, and therefore preparedness must be likewise institution specific. The same event may represent a disaster for a 30 bed hospital and simply tax the capacity of an 1800 bed institution.

Improving Hospital Mass Casualty Preparedness Through Ongoing Readiness Evaluation

American Journal of Medical Quality, 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ongoing use of an evaluation tool on hospitals' emergency preparedness for mass casualty events (MCEs). Two cycles of evaluation of emergency preparedness were conducted based on measurable parameters. A significant increase was found in mean total scores between the 2 cycles (from 77.1 to 88.5). An increase was found in scores for standard operating procedures, training, and equipment, but the change was significant only in the training category. Relative increase was highest for hospitals that did not experience real MCEs. This study offers a structured and practical approach for ongoing improvement of emergency preparedness, based on validated, measurable benchmarks. Ongoing assessment of emergency preparedness motivates hospitals to improve capabilities and results in a more effective emergency response mechanism. Use of predetermined and measurable benchmarks allows the institutions being assessed to improve their level of performance in the areas evaluated.

Community Hospital Disaster Preparedness in the United States

International Journal of Disaster Response and Emergency Management

Disasters are common events in the United States. They generally result in casualties and community hospitals play a critical role in caring for these victims. Therefore, it is critical that hospitals are prepared for disasters. There has been increased focus on hospital disaster preparedness in the United States because of events that have occurred in the 21st century. To determine the current state of disaster preparedness among community hospitals, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted that focused on studies and other articles pertaining to disaster preparedness in U.S. community hospitals. The review showed mixed results as to whether hospitals are better prepared to handle disasters. Barriers to preparedness were identified. Opportunities for improvement may require additional study and involvement by federal and state governments, other agencies, and hospitals themselves to overcome barriers and assist hospitals in achieving a higher level of preparedness.

Determining Functional Preparedness of Selected Military Hospitals in Response to Disasters

Trauma monthly, 2020

Background: Iran is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Hospital readiness is important for providing services to patients in times of crisis and can be considered an important indicator in crisis management. Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the functional preparedness of selected military hospitals in response to tragedy and disasters. Methods: This cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted in two AJA-military hospitals in Tehran in 2020. A random sampling method was used to select hospitals. A checklist of functional preparedness of hospitals in response to disasters was used to collect data. Data were analyzed and coded with SPSS software. Results: According to the results, the mean and standard deviation of the functional preparedness score for hospitals A and B were 86.17±4.24 and 81.76±10.52, respectively, and the total average score was 83.97±8.21, which indicated good conditions. The results of the independent t-test showed tha...

Assessment of community hospital disaster preparedness in New York State

Journal of emergency management (Weston, Mass.)

The intent of this study was to assess disaster preparedness in community hospitals across New York. Descriptive and analytical cross-sectional survey study. The survey instrument consisted of 35 questions that examined six elements of disaster preparedness: disaster plan development, onsite surge capacity, available materials and resources, disaster education and training, disaster preparedness funding levels, and perception of disaster preparedness. Community hospitals in New York. Contact information was obtained for 207 of 208 community hospitals. Email invitations to participate in the survey were sent to hospital CEOs and disaster preparedness coordinators. Completed surveys were received from 80 hospitals. Hospital responses to questions related to the six elements of disaster preparedness. Most (87.5 percent) hospitals had experienced a disaster event during the past 5 years (2012-2016). Eighty percent had disaster plans that addressed all of six major types of disasters. On...

Hospital strategic preparedness planning: the new imperative

Prehospital and disaster medicine

Strategic preparedness planning is an important new imperative for many hospitals. Strategic preparedness planning goes beyond traditional product/market strategic planning by focusing on disaster prevention, containment, and response roles. Hospitals, because of their unique mission, size, complexity, the types of materials they handle, and the types of patients they encounter, are especially vulnerable to natural and human-initiated disasters. In addition, when disasters occur, hospitals must develop well-conceived first responder (receiver) strategies. This paper argues the case for strategic preparedness planning for hospitals and proposes a process for this relatively new and much needed type of planning.

Assessing hospital disaster preparedness: A scoping review of available tools

Narra J

One of the problems faced after a disaster is health service for victims and hospitals play a critical role in handling disaster victims. Therefore, hospitals must enhance their preparedness and establish a disaster-safe environment to effectively fulfill their role as a provider of health services during a crisis. The aim of this scoping review was to identify hospital disaster preparedness tools used around the globe and to identify the critical aspects that need to be included in hospital disaster preparedness. This study used the five stages of Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework to determine what disaster preparedness tools can be used in a hospital setting. The electronic literature searches of English articles published between 2018 and 2023 were conducted using PubMed, Elsevier, ProQuest, ISI Web Science, and Google Scholar databases. The searched keywords were combined into several search terms such as sub-discipline, subtitle, year, language, and content...