Office of Nursing
Emergency Preparedness
| Protocol for Activation of Nursing Resources in Disasters and Emergencies
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• Protocol for Activation of Nursing Resources
in Disasters and Emergencies
Introduction
Disasters and emergencies are important opportunities for nurses to respond to the health needs of the public. Disaster nursing represents a field where all nurses, regardless of their particular specialty, may form new collegial bonds in a practice that serves the entire community. Nurses bring their respective expertise to the disaster where they join a complex network of organizations and contribute to the health and well-being of populations locally, statewide, nationally and globally. Retired nurses and unemployed nurses can join the team and help with disaster prevention, planning, training, responding and recovery.
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DCH), Division of Public Health (DPH) is mandated under Emergency Support Function (ESF) 6 (Mass Care) and 8 (Health and Medical), to assist with mass care and to assure the health and safety of the public during times of disaster and emergency. Nursing resources are essential to
DCH being able to carry out its mandated responsibilities. The nursing resources activated under these mandates may be used to assist any health care entity or community in Georgia that is impacted by a disaster or emergency.
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Purpose
The purpose of this protocol is to provide an organized, systematic and consistent approach to how nursing resources, both within public health and external to public health, will be activated during times of disasters and emergencies to fulfill
DCH’s mandated responsibilities. The purpose of the attached flow chart is to illustrate the process for how the
DCH Division of Public Health activates nursing resources, both within the statewide public health system and the registry of Registered Nurse volunteers with the Georgia Nurse Alert System (GNAS) and/or the SERVGA system, hereafter expressed as SERVGA/ GNAS.
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Description
The following narrative describes the components of the Protocol.
Normal Operations
Normal work operations are maintained. No additional nursing resources are required.
Alert
Alert status means that a disaster/emergency may have occurred or is imminent. When an alert is announced, there will be close monitoring of the emergency communication system for further information, updates and changes in the status of the alert and the disaster/emergency. The DPH
Office of Nursing will initiate and maintain phone, e-mail and/or fax communication with the public health districts, the emergency response partners within DPH/DCH and external partners, including the American Red Cross, regarding any potential or identified need for nursing resources. If the
DCH EOC is operational, then all communication regarding nursing issues will be coordinated through the Nursing Duty Officer Station in the EOC.
Based on the circumstances of the emergency, a message may be sent to all public health districts and/or the GNAS and/or SERVGA system informing nurses of the alert status and asking nurses if they are available to assist with an emergency response effort if they are needed.
Activation
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County/Local Community Nursing Resources Activated
Nursing resources within the county and local community are activated first before seeking resources outside the county. Since all disasters and emergencies occur at the local level, local public health agencies have written emergency plans, which have been developed in collaboration with a wide range of partners and community stakeholders. Local emergency plans should include a mechanism for the identification of nurses to assist with the disaster/emergency response efforts. Many disasters and emergencies occur in which the local agency implements the local plan, and may or may not require the assistance of local nurses from within public health or other agencies and providers. When the nursing resources within the county are adequate to respond to the disaster/emergency, there will be ongoing communication between the DPH and the county/district to monitor the scope of the disaster and to identify the need for any changes in nursing resources.
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Public Health Nursing Resources outside the Affected District
When a disaster or emergency occurs that exceeds or overwhelms the capacity of the county or district to respond, the district contacts the DPH or the Emergency Operations Center for assistance. The
Office of Nursing or the Nursing Duty Officer in the Emergency Operations Center communicates with the district and/or county staff regarding the scope of the disaster and the availability of local resources. The Nursing Duty Officer will consult with the EOC staff and follow channels consistent with principles of incident command management regarding any need for requesting nursing resources through the federal government. The
Office of Nursing or the Nursing Duty Officer will establish the appropriate communication channels relative to the activation of nursing resources to the needed areas. These communication channels must include designating the name(s) of contact person(s) between the DPH and the district or county, the method of communication (e.g., regular phone, cell phone, e-mail), and the frequency of routine reports and updates that will be needed and appropriate to coordinate all the detailed arrangements and plans for the activation of nursing resources to the designated areas.
The initial assessment by the county/district shall include the following:
- An estimated number of persons impacted by the disaster/emergency
- A description of the health needs of those who have been displaced and/or impacted
- An estimated number of public health nurses needed from outside the county/district, if any, to staff mass (general/congregate) shelters/sites
- An estimated number of nurses needed from outside the county/district, if any, to staff special needs shelters/sites.
An ongoing assessment of the scope and impact of the disaster will dictate any necessary adjustments in the projected need for nursing resources.
The Office of Nursing or the Nursing Duty Officer shall serve as the point of contact for the DPH on all aspects of identifying the need for, and coordinating the activation process of nursing resources across district jurisdictions and/or statewide, as part of fulfilling the
DCH mandated responsibilities under Emergency Support Functions 6 and 8.
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Georgia Nurse Alert and SERVGA
The GNAS/SERVGA volunteers will be activated after local public health and/or other local community nursing resources and statewide public health nursing resources are depleted. All nursing resources from local public health, local private or non-public health care providers and statewide nursing resources outside the district jurisdiction will be called upon or considered for activation prior to activation of the GNAS/SERVGA volunteers.
When it is necessary to activate the GNAS / SERVGA, DCH shall coordinate the activation process, which includes scripting the message that will be sent to the RN volunteers, coordinating the communication to and from the volunteers who may be activated and tracking the location, duration and rotation of each assignment made.
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Federal
When the need for nursing resources exceeds the capacity to respond with nurses available within the state of Georgia, a request for assistance from the federal government will be made through the EOC to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
Deactivate
Deactivation means a return to normal operations. When the order to deactivate is announced, the
Office of Nursing or the Nursing Duty Officer in the EOC shall communicate to the nursing resources the need to follow the deactivation procedures that apply to the specific disaster/emergency situation. The process of making the transition from activation to deactivation may be referred to as a “stand down.”
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