Hospitals play a critical role in safeguarding the health and safety of all individuals during disaster events, particularly those from vulnerable populations. These groups—such as the elderly, children, individuals with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness, and non-English speakers—often face unique challenges during crises, making tailored disaster planning essential.
Posting visitation restriction signage in hospitals is crucial during pandemic events by helping to minimize the spread infection through controlling the number of individuals entering health care facilities.
Public health emergencies, natural disasters, and mass casualty events require hospitals to implement triage protocols to prioritize care based on patient severity and treatment likelihood. Hospitals must strive for equitable access, particularly for vulnerable populations, while addressing the ethical implications of resource allocation.
Guidelines for Pertussis Control provides comprehensive recommendations for the prevention and management of pertussis (whooping cough) in health care settings. It emphasizes the importance of vaccination, particularly in vulnerable populations such as infants and pregnant women. The document outlines strategies for outbreak management, including case identification, reporting, and contact tracing. Additionally, it discusses treatment options and the role of health care providers in educating patients about the disease. The guidelines aim to enhance public health response and reduce the incidence of pertussis through coordinated efforts across health care settings.
When the demand for healthcare services surpasses available resources, hospitals face challenging decisions. Effective resource allocation requires assessing the urgency and necessity of treatments, and hospitals may establish frameworks to prioritize patients based on factors such as the severity of their condition, the likelihood of treatment benefit, and overall public health outcomes.
2023 Disaster Conference
The growing population of older adults in the United States with complex medical conditions are typically the most severely impacted by large-scale weather and climate disasters. A health care systems’ ability to leverage technology and optimize limited resources during an emergency is universal. Join us to learn how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) established the Vulnerable Patient Care, Access, and Response in Emergencies (VP CARE) Program to provide standardized data tools and guidance to assist medical facilities with conducting outreach and care coordination to vulnerable Veteran populations during major emergencies
2022 Disaster Conference
The growing population of older adults in the United States with complex medical conditions are typically the most severely impacted by large-scale weather and climate disasters. A health care systems’ ability to leverage technology and optimize limited resources during an emergency is universal. Join us to learn how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) established the Vulnerable Patient Care, Access, and Response in Emergencies (VP CARE) Program to provide standardized data tools and guidance to assist medical facilities with conducting outreach and care coordination to vulnerable Veteran populations during major emergencies
Active shooter events in a health care setting present unique challenges: a potentially large vulnerable patient population, hazardous materials (including infectious disease), locked units, special challenges (such as weapons and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines (these machines contain large magnets which can cause issues with firearms, or remove it from the hands of law enforcement), as well as caregivers who can respond to treat victims.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures…” – Benet Wilson
COVID-19 is challenging America’s health care providers in ways we never imagined. To support them in making difficult decisions during times of scarce medical supplies, California’s health care leadership has been developing guidance that will help frontline health care workers make some of the hardest decisions of their lives.
Hospitals are required to conduct and review their Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) annually. The HVA is a systematic approach to identifying hazards that may affect demand for the hospitals services or its ability to provide those services. The risks associated with each hazard are analyzed to prioritize planning, mitigation, response and recovery activities. The HVA serves as a needs assessment for the Emergency Management program. This process should involve community partners and be communicated to community emergency response agencies.