Emergency preparedness plan for VHC-Chula Vista during virus outbreak

Security Response Plan to a Virus Outbreak

VHC-Chula Vista assumes a critical role within the health framework in offering essential medical care to the community, especially in times of crisis as the virus outbreak in this case. If this outbreak is prolonged, it could lead to the progressive spread of the disease with a rapid increase in service demands, which could overwhelm the capacity of VHC-Chula Vista and the larger health system. While seeking to revamp the preparedness of VHC-Chula Vista to deal with the challenge of the epidemic, the management must ensure they initiate the relevant generic priority action. This paper offers a checklist of VHC-Chula Vista's emergency preparedness process.

Threat Assessment

Experts specializing in infectious diseases argue that the country stands on the verge of a virus outbreak. However, though it is believed that virus flu was responsible for the death of at least 20 million individuals, the public still seems relatively unconcerned about the foreseen killer flu. Significant attention has been directed towards safeguarding the public from terrorist strikes than from the much pervasive and life-threatening pandemic of a flu outbreak. The WHO estimates that such an event is conservatively projected to cause roughly 2 to 8 million deaths. In the meantime, the threat mounts as the nation's capacity to generate vaccines shrinks, and flu outbreaks reach endemic levels in most parts of the country. In fact, a recent summit convened by the WHO summarized that "the unpredictability of flu viruses and the speed with which transmissibility can improve means that the time for preparedness planning is now."

Moreover, the WHO reports that in 1918, virus flu caused the death of over 50 million persons worldwide. Worse still, the country experienced numerous economic losses and serious social disruptions. Following the enhanced health system and emergency preparedness strategies, we cannot afford to wait for the same number of deaths as in 1918. Nevertheless, various risk variables appear to predispose a huge part of the population to infections. For instance, population displacement, poverty, increased travel and inadequate infrastructure are argued to be key risk factors.

Staffing Requirements

The hospital's Emergency Department Officer (ED) will serve as Disaster Medical Officer (DMO) during this outbreak. The ED medical director will assume the role of DMO immediately on site. Responsibilities shall include triage, communication with EMS, directing physician staff and allocating ground floor resources.

The Incident Command Officer (ICO) shall act as the senior administrator in the crisis. As such, he/she will be responsible for coordinating VHC-Chula Vista's emergency response and opening the command center in support of the DMO. The ICO has complete command of all the personnel and resources in the phase of the disaster.

Any staff or employee without specific duties during the outbreak will report to their immediate supervisor who will assign them as required. In turn, the Incident-Command Center (ICC) shall direct the supervisors.

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