SPECIAL GUEST EDITORIAL
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: MORE JUST A DRILL
Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN, Williamstown, NJ
In place of JEN Editor-in-Chief Anne Manton’s editorial, the Journal is featuring the following editorial by JEN Senior Clinical Editor and Guest Editor of JEN’s September 2014 Special Disaster issue, Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN.
anaging multiple casualty events is a core emergency nursing competency. While rarely needed, it is a true test of our expertise. This issue of JEN is intended to assist you in responding effectively. The importance of emergency preparedness is obvious; reports of mass shootings, bombings, armed conflicts, displaced civilians, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, weather extremes, tornados and now, an Ebola outbreak, fill the news. Once rare diseases such as polio and pertussis have resurfaced. Threat of naturally occurring or terrorist activated pandemics, biological or chemical releases or dirty bomb detonation with radioactive contamination is an on-going concern. Critical to managing disasters is resilience at all levels. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) mantra is “prepare, plan, be informed.” Despite the imperative, and concerted public education efforts, most Americans, including nurses, lack personal/family emergency plans and emergency supplies. So, who can we count on to come to work during a disaster? Inadequate individual preparedness directly affects the emergency department as well. Weather emergencies have caused emergency departments to be inundated with renal failure patients requiring dialysis, oxygen-dependent people
M
THAN
with no oxygen supplies, exacerbations of chronic diseases because of lack of routine medications, and machinedependent individuals with no emergency power. Added to this were people seeking food, warmth, and cell phone charging at hospitals that were already running on limited emergency power and having provisions only for their own patients and staff. Clearly, we all have a stake in emergency preparedness. Disaster research is difficult, so there is reliance on reports of what did and did not go well in actual events. Two articles in this issue address “lessons learned” from recent events – the Aurora theatre mass shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing. I am indebted to the authors who have so courageously shared their gut wrenching experiences, reinforcing that these events can happen anywhere, patients may not arrive by emergency medical services (EMS), frequent drills are critical, and the psychological impact on caregivers cannot be ignored. Other articles address disaster triage systems, nursing education and personal preparedness. The Disaster Resources list includes information on educational programs, mobile apps, disaster journals, and relevant organizations. The cover artwork — a Red Cross Nursing recruitment poster for World War I — was selected because it represents nursing artwork; acknowledges the Red Cross legacy of support to disaster victims and the military; and finally, the nurse’s facial expression reflects to me the anguish and cost of caring. September is Emergency Preparedness month — designated following the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States. We honor the fallen, the many responders who gave their all, and the countless others who continue to struggle. Consider taking a class, volunteering for your local disaster committee, organizing a drill, registering as a volunteer health professional, or joining a community emergency response team (CERT) or a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT). Most of all, please take the time to develop or test your personal emergency plans and check your emergency supplies, review your institutional plan, and assess whether you are truly prepared for the next disaster.
Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, Member, Jersey Shore Chapter, New Jersey ENA, is Emergency Nursing Educator and Consultant, Williamstown, NJ. For correspondence, write: Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2014;40:414. 0099-1767 Copyright © 2014 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2014.07.011
414
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
VOLUME 40 • ISSUE 5
September 2014
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: MORE JUST A DRILL
Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN, Williamstown, NJ
In place of JEN Editor-in-Chief Anne Manton’s editorial, the Journal is featuring the following editorial by JEN Senior Clinical Editor and Guest Editor of JEN’s September 2014 Special Disaster issue, Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN.
anaging multiple casualty events is a core emergency nursing competency. While rarely needed, it is a true test of our expertise. This issue of JEN is intended to assist you in responding effectively. The importance of emergency preparedness is obvious; reports of mass shootings, bombings, armed conflicts, displaced civilians, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, weather extremes, tornados and now, an Ebola outbreak, fill the news. Once rare diseases such as polio and pertussis have resurfaced. Threat of naturally occurring or terrorist activated pandemics, biological or chemical releases or dirty bomb detonation with radioactive contamination is an on-going concern. Critical to managing disasters is resilience at all levels. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) mantra is “prepare, plan, be informed.” Despite the imperative, and concerted public education efforts, most Americans, including nurses, lack personal/family emergency plans and emergency supplies. So, who can we count on to come to work during a disaster? Inadequate individual preparedness directly affects the emergency department as well. Weather emergencies have caused emergency departments to be inundated with renal failure patients requiring dialysis, oxygen-dependent people
M
THAN
with no oxygen supplies, exacerbations of chronic diseases because of lack of routine medications, and machinedependent individuals with no emergency power. Added to this were people seeking food, warmth, and cell phone charging at hospitals that were already running on limited emergency power and having provisions only for their own patients and staff. Clearly, we all have a stake in emergency preparedness. Disaster research is difficult, so there is reliance on reports of what did and did not go well in actual events. Two articles in this issue address “lessons learned” from recent events – the Aurora theatre mass shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing. I am indebted to the authors who have so courageously shared their gut wrenching experiences, reinforcing that these events can happen anywhere, patients may not arrive by emergency medical services (EMS), frequent drills are critical, and the psychological impact on caregivers cannot be ignored. Other articles address disaster triage systems, nursing education and personal preparedness. The Disaster Resources list includes information on educational programs, mobile apps, disaster journals, and relevant organizations. The cover artwork — a Red Cross Nursing recruitment poster for World War I — was selected because it represents nursing artwork; acknowledges the Red Cross legacy of support to disaster victims and the military; and finally, the nurse’s facial expression reflects to me the anguish and cost of caring. September is Emergency Preparedness month — designated following the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States. We honor the fallen, the many responders who gave their all, and the countless others who continue to struggle. Consider taking a class, volunteering for your local disaster committee, organizing a drill, registering as a volunteer health professional, or joining a community emergency response team (CERT) or a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT). Most of all, please take the time to develop or test your personal emergency plans and check your emergency supplies, review your institutional plan, and assess whether you are truly prepared for the next disaster.
Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, Member, Jersey Shore Chapter, New Jersey ENA, is Emergency Nursing Educator and Consultant, Williamstown, NJ. For correspondence, write: Margaret (Peggy) M. McMahon, MN, APN, NP-C, CEN, FAEN; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2014;40:414. 0099-1767 Copyright © 2014 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2014.07.011
414
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
VOLUME 40 • ISSUE 5
September 2014
