Boone County Hospital (BCH) has many activities in place to prepare the hospital and our community for emergencies related to mass trauma, natural disasters, terrorism events, or otherwise. Since 9/11, the Federal Government has placed a high priority on assisting state and local entities in becoming more prepared for disasters of all kinds. Assistance has come in the form of grant money and training.
BCH is actively involved in preparing for local and large-scale disaster response and recovery through involvement with the Health Resource & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). HRSA & CDC provide grant money and guidance on goals and activities which hospitals and local public health entities should undertake to prepare for emergency and disasters of all kinds.
Some of the activities BCH has been involved in include: 1) adopting the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS) as a standardized structure in which to organize communication during a disaster response, 2) the purchase of personal protective equipment for air-borne contagions (Air-Mate PAPRs) and for hazardous materials (Breathe-Easy PAPRs & Ty-Vec suits) as well as a portable decontamination shower and a negative air “ante-room”. BCH has also participated in various drills and exercises of varying topics and scales. |