Radiological incident preparedness for community hospitals: a demonstration project.
In November 2007, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health Hospital Disaster Preparedness Program State Expert Panel on Radiation Emergencies issued a report titled The Management of Patients in a Radiological Incident. Gundersen Lutheran Health System was selected to conduct a demonstration project to implement the recommendations in that report. A comprehensive radiological incident response plan was developed and implemented in the hospital's Trauma and Emergency Center, including the purchase and installation of radiation detection and identification equipment, staff education and training, a tabletop exercise, and three mock incident test exercises. The project demonstrated that the State Expert Panel report provides a flexible template that can be implemented at community hospitals using existing staff for an approximate cost of $25,000.
Jafari
Mary Ellen
ME
Gundersen Lutheran Health System, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA. mejafari@gundluth.org
D054597:Disaster Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014922:Wisconsin