Natural Disaster Preparedness Plan:
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Natural Disaster Preparedness Plan
Annually around 600 deaths are caused as a result of natural disasters in the United States. The emergence of natural disasters has activated the health care institutions and the staff to provide an active role in the response effort. Consequently, it is very vital to concentrate on emergency preparedness before health is required. Sadly, health care institutions in the United States have continually fallen short in disaster planning and management. Inadequate preparation and planning bring about ramifications to staff, financial security, and the hospital at significant risk. The paper seeks to analyze how communication and comprehensive training, as a feature of a natural disaster preparedness plan, corresponds well to environmental health.
Comprehensive training and precise communication are components of a natural disaster preparedness plan—both health care providers and the communities play a crucial role in tackling natural disasters. Natural disaster affects them both directly and indirectly; hence, a plan is needed to prevent its occurrence or reoccurrence. Communication is a vital tool for both health care providers and the public. Health care should be open and honest to the public by providing correct information, impacting full knowledge on the danger of a natural disaster, and making them aware of its reoccurrence.
Today, social media plays a role in providing both educative and misleading information to the public on handling the disaster. Therefore health care experts should actively cooperate reasonably with the media institutions to provide correct information before it leaks out. All stakeholders in an organization need to be aware of how to manage an emergency effectively. Better communication between the community and health care experts creates a safe and relaxed environment hence a quick disaster response.
Comprehensive training for both community and health care experts helps in handling the natural disaster. Adequate training for all staff working at the health facility needs to be incorporated to handle disaster situations well. In the United States, various government agencies like the center for disease control and prevention (CDC), food and drug administration (FDA), and FEMA play a crucial role in providing valuable emergency preparedness and response resources. Various learning institutions constructed to help in handling disaster cases an example is the Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC)
Although training is vital, not all facilities experience emergency since it helps staff prepare enough for a quick response. Health care facilities like the fire response unit, ambulances, the police, and other departments need to be ready to provide services in any disaster outbreak. Adequate training to the public by the health expert ensures proper response and management to emergencies. Various training programs available on social media help create awareness to the public, hence making them informed on disasters.
In conclusion, human beings are prone to natural disasters, and emergencies come at any time with no apparent warning on their occurrence. Therefore, both the public and health care experts should work hand in hand and cooperate reasonably to ensure a secure environment for all living organism, health care experts should communicate closely with the community members, provide adequate training, create awareness on the occurrence and reoccurrence of emergencies and also actively monitor daily human behaviors in the surrounding.
References
Coppola, D. P. (2006). Introduction to international disaster management. Elsevier.
Perry, R. W., & Lindell, M. K. (2003). Preparedness for emergency response: guidelines for the emergency planning process. Disasters, 27(4), 336-350.
Perry, R. W., Lindell, M. K., & Tierney, K. J. (Eds.). (2001). Facing the unexpected: Disaster preparedness and response in the United States. Joseph Henry Press.
Watson, J. T., Gayer, M., & Connolly, M. A. (2007). Epidemics after natural disasters. Emerging infectious diseases, 13(1), 1.