https://leadershipandinfluencingchangeinnursing.pressbooks.

com/chapter/chapter-13-
emergency-preparedness-and-response/

We see all comers, from the worried well to the critically ill; from birth to death; and
with conditions involving all parts of the mind, body, and spirit; from brain trauma to
ingrown toenails. Our patients come to us trusting that we will respect their concerns
and that we will provide care for them. As emergency nurses, we have a responsibility
to respect that trust and provide our patients with the skill and expert knowledge
required for their care.

—Jean Proehl (2009, p. xi)

INTRODUCTION

Emergency nurses see it all. Disasters have claimed millions of lives and cost billions
of dollars worldwide in the past few decades. Goodwin Veenema suggests that there
is, on average, a disaster requiring international assistance every week (2013).
Tragedies such as the September 11th World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina,
and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti have led heath care providers to critically review
their processes in order to deal with such events.

Nurses need to be familiar with their role in emergency preparedness and disaster
planning as they frequently have wide-ranging leadership responsibilities for
community- and hospital-level disaster preparedness and response. This chapter
discusses the definition of a disaster, either natural or anthropogenic (caused by
humans), disaster preparedness and planning, and the disaster response.

Disasters are defined in many ways. The World Health Organization (WHO, n.d.)
defines disaster as “a situation or event, which overwhelms local capacity,
necessitating a request to the national or international level for external assistance.”
The United States Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) defines it as an
emergency that “requires responsive action to protect life or property” (USDHS,
2008, p. 138). Hammond, Arbon, Gebbie, & Hutton (2012) summarize these
definitions in their statement that
A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a
society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental
losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or
society to cope using its own resources.” (p. 236)