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Disaster Planning (disaster + planning)
Selected AbstractsNoah and Disaster Planning: The Cultural Significance of the Flood StoryJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003Russell R. Dynes Disasters are both interesting and infrequent. Thus, understanding them usually depends on stories others tell us. Such stories frame our understandings and imaginations. With those stories at hand, we comprehend reality and history on the basis of what everyone knows. At times, however, it is useful to examine what everyone knows. To create a lasting narrative, disaster provides rich raw material to elaborate. ,Natural' disasters involve universal, primordial elements , water, fire, the shaking of the earth. Beyond those physical elements, disasters elicit basic human concerns , death, injury, disruption, broken social relationships, and fractured hope. Ultimate values and meanings can be challenged. Continuity and permanence are challenged. Such crises can lead to new explanations and the reworking of old metaphors. The task here is to take a disaster story, the Biblical flood , often referred to as the Deluge , and to examine its origins, its evolution, and its continuing impact within the Western World. More specifically, it will be argued that the flood story has had a continuing determinative influence on how disasters have been imagined in American society, especially in the ways that imagery has influenced emergency planning. [source] Nurses' perception of disaster: implications for disaster nursing curriculumJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 22 2009Fung WM Olivia Aims and objectives., The aims of the study were to identify nurses' perception of disaster, whether they considered some of the events that have occurred in Hong Kong to be disasters and the types of disastrous events that they considered likely in Hong Kong. Background., The frequent occurrence of disasters has caused concern internationally. When disaster strikes, the demands on nursing staff are much higher than those on other healthcare professionals. There is little understanding of the concept of disaster among nurses in Hong Kong. Design., This was a descriptive study. A questionnaire was used to explore nurses' perception of disaster. Method., The questionnaire was distributed to all registered nurses studying in a master's degree programme in a university in Hong Kong. Findings., Only 123 out of the 164 respondents (75%) gave a description of disaster in the open-ended question. Sixty-one per cent of them described unfortunate events with large numbers of victims as disasters. The ,Lan Kwai Fong tragedy , stampede caused by over-crowdedness' (90·9%) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak (89·6%) were commonly referred to as disasters in Hong Kong. Fires in tall buildings (61·6%), infectious disease outbreaks (61%) and stampedes caused by overcrowding (48·8%) were rated as the events most likely to happen in Hong Kong. Conclusion., Understanding how nurses perceive disaster and the likelihood of disastrous events is the initial step for disaster planning and the development of a disaster nursing curriculum in Hong Kong. Relevance to clinical practice., All nurses around the world should be equipped with knowledge and skills for disaster care. This study provides information and implications for related research and the development of a disaster nursing curriculum to meet the global demand for disaster preparedness. [source] Measuring Resilience Potential: An Adaptive Strategy for Organizational Crisis PlanningJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009Scott Somers There are questions as to whether a causal relationship exists between crisis planning and effective adaptive behaviors in crisis. Traditional planning has viewed the crisis plan as an outcome of a process to be utilized in a step-by-step fashion during a crisis. This article challenges this orthodox view and suggests a new paradigm, one that focuses on creating organizational structures and processes that build organizational resilience potential. The objective is to develop a scale to measure latent resilience in organizations. This exploratory research begins to build a critical foundation of knowledge with which to consider whether a move towards a new paradigm in disaster planning , one based on building organizational resilience potential , should be the focus of future research. [source] An Improvised Oxygen Supply System for Pandemic and Disaster UseACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009Charles M. Little DO Abstract Background:, Current disaster planning for pandemic influenza anticipates overwhelming numbers of patients in need of hospitalization. The anticipated use of extra, or "surge," beds is common in both hospital and community disaster response planning. In a pandemic of respiratory illness, supplemental oxygen will be a life-saving intervention. There are currently few options to provide these proposed surge beds with the necessary oxygen. Objectives:, A method of providing an improvised oxygen delivery system for use in a disaster was developed and tested. This system was designed to use readily available commercial materials to assemble an oxygen delivery system. Methods:, The study consisted of a laboratory design, assembly, and testing of an improvised oxygen system. Results:, A liquid oxygen (LOX) Dewar container was used to supply oxygen systems built from inexpensive commercially available plastic tubing and fittings. The system will drive ventilators without significant pressure drop or ventilator malfunction. The final developed system will supply 30 patients with up to 6 L/min (l pm) oxygen each by nasal cannula from a single oxygen Dewar. Conclusions:, An improvised system to deliver oxygen for patient beds or ventilator use can be easily assembled in the event of a disaster. This could be life-saving in the event of a pandemic of respiratory illness. [source] A comparative study of laws, rules, codes and other influences on nursing homes' disaster preparedness in the Gulf Coast statesBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 5 2007Professor Lisa M. Brown Ph.D. In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated several Gulf Coast states and caused many deaths. The hurricane- related deaths of 70 nursing home residents,34 believed drowned in St. Rita's Nursing Home in Louisiana and 36 from 12 other nursing homes,highlighted problems associated with poorly developed and executed disaster plans, uninformed evacuation decision-making, and generally inadequate response by providers and first responders (DHHS, 2006; Hyer, Brown, Berman, & Polivka-West, 2006). Such loss of human life perhaps could have been prevented and certainly lessened if, prior to the hurricanes, policies, regulations, and laws had been enacted, executable disaster guidelines been available, vendor contracts been honored, and sufficient planning taken place. This article discusses applicable federal and state laws and regulations that govern disaster preparedness with a particular focus on nursing homes. It highlights gaps in these laws and makes suggestions regarding future disaster planning. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||