NURS4000 Community Case: Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management
NURS4000 Community Case: Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management
Case Part 1
An F2 tornado touches down on the edge of Johnson County without much advance warning
from the National Weather Service. The Johnson County disaster preparedness plan is
implemented, but it has not been tested for over 3 years. There seems to be some confusion at the
command center on who may be in charge due to changes in personnel since the last test of the
disaster preparedness plan. Nurse Judy and nursing student Madison arrive at the command
center to volunteer, but they have to wait for some time to receive their assignment. NURS4000 Community Case: Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management
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Questions for students:
1. What are the main components of a disaster plan?
oAn Incident Resource Center has four sections. The Incident Command System
was created for more effective disaster management. Nurses should understand
the components of ICS, which consist of the planning section, operations section,
finance and administrative section, and a logistics section. For example, assisting
in developing strategy and supervising resources such as personnel would be the
responsibility of the operations section.
2. What are the phases of disaster management?
oAn example of the preparedness phase would be a town keeping the tornado
alarm checked and tested once per month during the peak season.
oThe prevention phase would include identifying community risk factors along
with developing and implementing the plan.
oThe response phase begins immediately after the incident occurs.
oThe recovery phase happens when the area starts the process of rebuilding and
restoring aspects of the community. NURS4000 Community Case: Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management
3. Who implements a community disaster plan? How often should a community disaster
plan be reviewed and tested?
oThe Department of Homeland Security was organized to coordinate security,
protection, and disaster response through one federal department. Specifically, if a
tornado outbreak happened then the federal response would be coordinated and
implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA
the part of DHS that responds to natural disasters.
The ARC is a private entity that
will also respond, but it is not controlled by the federal government. A community
disaster plan should be reviewed and tested twice per year.
4. What are the differences between natural and man-made disasters?
Man-made disasters such as bioterrorism agents often have signs and symptoms
that mimic common complaints like flu symptoms, and therefore can spread
subtly and quickly. Whereas a natural disaster can be more obvious and abrupt,
such as a tornado, tsunami, or an earthquake. There is also a difference in the
impact on survivor’s mental health after a man-made disaster. There are several
factors that result in severe and lasting psychological effects. One key factor on
mental health includes if the disaster was caused by human intent, also known as
a man-made disaster.
5. How would you address the confusion at the incident command center?
oWithin the ICS, encourage planning, awareness, and preparedness of staff
involved in response. Everyone should keep up to date with the agency’s
emergency response plan. There are different roles for a nurse when preparing for
a response plan. The plan will give guidance including the roles of team members,
responsibilities, and mechanisms of reporting depending on the type of disaster.
Therefore, there is a joint effort in reacting to the disaster instead of just waiting
on orders.
