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First Aid Contingency Plan for Major Disasters Table of Contents
FIRST AID CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR MAJOR DISASTERS
Medical First Aid Committee
Palmas del Mar, Humacao, PR
02/15/02
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
For the health professionals and auxiliary group the meaning of "Teamwork" and "caring" is very important. The Medical First Aid Committee has been working hard to achieve our goals. VERY SPECIAL THANKS to the members of Medical First Aid Group that believe that health is precious to our survival and that our health is the most important aspect of survival after suffering the force of a major disaster.
Thanks to the personnel at Ryder Memorial Hospital for their collaboration with our group. Thanks to our Homeowners President, members of Security Department of Palmas del Mar, members of the Homeowners Administration Office and a very special thanks to the State Medical Emergency Department personnel that have been working real hard with us.
To all of you that understand our philosophy and helped us to achieve our goals, thanks and God bless all.
The residents of the Palmas del Mar community are conscious of the dangers that can occur due to natural atmospheric phenomena and the danger of terrorists activity due to human cause, and have united with the following belief;
We believe that health is precious to our survival. With this premise in mind, we believe the preservation of our health is the most important aspect of survival after suffering the force of a major disaster.
The team of health professionals that reside in Palmas del Mar and the other residents of the team have joined together to minimize and/or stop any unnecessary deaths of our residents that have been traumatized physically, psychologically, spiritually or emotionally after a major disaster. Joining together under this genuine desire we have formalized the Palmas del Mar Major Disaster First Aid Response Team.
The purpose of this contingency plan is to establish a guide and to identify those health professionals within the Palmas del Mar community that could be called upon to assist with any medical emergencies in case a major disaster left the Palmas' community without communication with the surrounding areas.
For purpose of this plan a major disaster could be an earthquake, hurricane, flooding, or mudslides that would leave us without an entrance or exit to the facility thus requiring us to help our community until such time the proper legal agencies arrive from the other communities to provide assistance.
This plan does not intend to remove the authority or responsibility of the pertinent civic or governmental agencies. Its intent is to prepare the community to act in an organized manner to deal with a major disaster until such time as the appropriate authorities can arrive to take the necessary action.
For our plan to succeed in its objectives, all members of the committee have assumed responsibility to respond immediately, when the necessity arises and are aware what is necessary to do upon arrival.
It is also understood that feedback and understanding throughout the community leaders is important. Periodically, the team will meet with members of the community, members of the government and civic agencies to review our plan, practice and learn basic first aid response, and to formalize our plan and check equipment.
Our formal goals are as follows:
Offer first aid services to the immediate disaster areas, forming a triage to evaluate and move those affected to safer ground based on their immediate need.
Identify those prediscussed medical response areas that have survived the disaster and plan for movement of injured community members and first aid team members to these areas.
To assist in the recuperation of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of our community as a whole.
IV. Prior Risks for Major Catastrophes
To properly respond to major disasters, knowledge of what possible risks are imminent is important. It will assist in identifying the possible problems such as fractures, hemorrhages, premature birth,. cardiac problems, respiratory problems, stomach ailments, physical trauma, nervous conditions, psychological changes and burns of varying degrees and possible death.
HURRICANES
Flooding
Electrical Outages
High waves on shore areas
Mudslide
Structural damage to buildings, homes or bridges
Capsized or overturned vehicles Downed electrical lines
Flooding around rivers and lakes Contaminated water
Dangerous areas of debris and rubble General contamination of areas EARTHQUAKES
Cracked and elevated land or soil
Electrical outages
Tidal waves
Damaged streets and bridges
Dangerous areas of debris and rubble
General pestilence and contamination
Broken water and gas lines 5
Oil, gas and other possible chemical spills
CYCLONES AND TIDAL WAVES
Dangerous wave action in and around shorelines
Flooding
Building damage from wave impacts
Electrical outages
General pestilence and contamination
Dangerous debris and rubble accumulation
DANGERS CAUSED BY HUMANS
Fires
Terrorist attacks
The premise of this plan is that an emergency could be the result of either an anticipated event such as a hurricane or the result of an unplanned or unanticipated event such as an earthquake. In either case, the First Aid Emergency Response Team will be. immediately available to the community to deal with people who are seriously injured or who are in need of medical attention to prevent major health complications.
During an anticipated emergency, such as a hurricane, the Palmas Homeowners Association, implements their Emergency Plan for Hurricanes. This plan has been coordinated with all the pertinent local government and civic agencies to ensure its effectiveness the success and response to our community. The plan will be reviewed annually at the beginning of the hurricane season to ensure that all the information concerning staffing, equipment and assigned responsibilities is properly identified.
Once the plan is activated in anticipation of a possible hurricane, the normal operation of the complex is altered and the Emergency Committee, lead by the PHA Executive Director, will take charge of the events. Community members, owners, businesses etc. will be notified of the activation of the Emergency Plan and informed how to properly protect their property, their employees and any and all restrictions that will be placed on entering the Palmas community before, after and during the hurricane.
Part of the actual Emergency Plan is the establishment of the Emergency Center in the Club Cala area. This emergency center of operations will be managed by personnel assigned from PHA and PDMPI and PDMU and can be reached through the hotel at 7878526000. All reports and emergency calls are channeled through this center. In the future, the Emergency Center will be located within the new PHA building when the construction is finished.
During the emergency, restricted measures concerning unnecessary movement of vehicles throughout the property are implemented. Immediately following the emergency, an emergency team is sent to evaluate the damage, identify risks and to begin to take the necessary measures to prevent injuries and additional damages. Restricted movements of vehicles continue during this time to ensure the safety of our community.
Emergency assistance calls during the emergency are received by the Director, who then considers the nature of the call, the current atmospheric condition and the resources available to respond to the call.
The Emergency Director has at their disposition a list of health professionals (see list Appendix IV) both on and off the property that will allow him/her to coordinate the emergency response for medical help. When possible, the Medical Emergency Director, may dispatch a security unit to pick up a health professional and proceed to the emergency area or depending on the conditions request the medical personnel to go directly to the site of the emergency from his/her home. In either case, the security team would supervise their movement within the property for their protection. It must be understood that the Emergency Center's function is as a center for coordination and communication and not as a first aid or medical center.
Immediately following the hurricanes impact, the Emergency team proceeds to evaluate the general situation of Palmas and to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the community. Part of this evaluation is to evaluate the centers whereby emergency aid can be offered when medical necessities arise (See Appendix II), should the exterior assistance be cut off The emergency team evaluates the sites on visual structure, accessibility, physical facilities such as water, lights, phone service, etc. and availability. Once determined, the team will assign the center or centers for medical emergency area.
Simultaneously with the evaluation process, the members of the First Aid Emergency Response team will be notified either by phone, radio or security messenger to arrange for the movement of the team (Appendix IV) and the necessary equipment to the designated area immediately upon determination of site and safety of movement throughout the property.
Once determined, the Medical Emergency Centers will begin to function under the direction of the Major Disaster First Aid Response Team, in strict coordination with the Emergency Center and Committee of Palmas del Mar. It will be understood that the team will respond to an emergency call only when the situation permits. This will include the condition of the patient, the location of the patient, available transportation and any other unanticipated events. The team will either send medical attention or instructions for that person to move or be transported to the Medical Center area. During this time, the Emergency Center and Medical Center will continue their efforts to contact and obtain assistance from corresponding outside agencies with primary emergency care responsibility. Once contact is established, staff will proceed with the instructions given but without taking the necessary attention to any continued emergency needs on site.
When the emergency has passed and the outside agencies have taken control. of the situation, the emergency team will clear the temporary medical center and return to a seminormal state, available should any other help be needed. The team will meet to evaluate the response and take the necessary measures to replenish medical supplies and any other followup information or forms that may be needed.
During an unexpected emergency, the efficiency of the plan will depend greatly on the nature and general condition of our complex immediately following the event, including communication, road conditions, and outside help. It is almost impossible to prepare for these types of event that could cause cataclysmic damage. However, as with anticipated emergency situations, there are certain preparations and plans which will remain the same, to deal with any situation in the best way possible.
As with anticipated emergencies that affect Palmas del Mar, the Palmas Homeowner Association will be responsible to initiate and activate the emergency plan. Under this plan, the PHA will call to meet with the emergency committee under the direction of the PHA Executive Director. However, the time, existing conditions and the general nature of the disaster will determine how, when and where the Emergency Committee will operate.
As could occur in any disaster, should the Director be injured, the Security Director or any other living and able security member or committee member may begin to make contact and organize the Emergency Plan into action in accordance with the following guidelines:
1. Establish an Emergency Center to coordinate all activities related to the emergency. These activities include evaluation of the complex, communications, damages, identifying risks, security of our premises, access control, calling of outside help when possible, and establishing a medical emergency center or centers.
2. In case the PHA offices have survived the disaster, the Emergency Committee will meet in the conference room as quickly as possible. If these facilities are not available the committee will determine the safest and most accessible area to meet.
a. The Emergency Committee will gather all available internal and external resources to evaluate the situation and the condition of the facilities.
b. The Emergency Committee will coordinate with pertinent government agencies for any necessary assistance. Simultaneously, they will begin to gather the necessary medical resources identified in Appendix III to prepare to meet the needs of the community members.
c. First priority is the physical evaluation of Palmas' facilities. The Committee will evaluate the list of possible Medical Emergency centers (Appendix II). Based on this evaluation the committee will immediately contact and coordinate with the Health Professionals to begin to take action on the functioning of these centers.
In the eventuality that outside communication is not available, the PDM Major Disaster First Aid Response Team will be prepared to take immediate action to deal with any problems with or without outside assistance.
The Emergency Committee will coordinate with the PDM Major Disaster First Aid Response Team to assign the necessary resources and assistance to deal with the emergency. Most importantly, they will be responsible for the movement of the Emergency Medical Kit to the designated Medical Emergency center. During a planned emergency, this kit would be located in the Club Cala area with the PHA Director, at all other times it would be in the hands of the Security Director's office.
It is important to reiterate that it is impossible to plan for this type of emergency, but the most important thing is to remain calm, think clearly before taking actions, and proceed cautiously and disciplined as you begin to take action.
We must remember that jointly with the medical assistance plan, there will be various other actions taken to protect the security, and general well being of our community by the Emergency Committee and any pertinent agencies.
As stated in this document, it is impossible to form a contingency plan that covers all of the possible situations that could occur in any emergency, particularly unanticipated events. However, the exercise taken here develops a plan and to discuss possible problems and situations has made us better equipped to deal with eventualities in real emergencies. The purpose of this plan is to make us better aware of how we can help ourselves and provide assistance to those in charge in case of an emergency.
Any comments or suggestions that could help in improving this plan or to contribute to its effectiveness would be greatly appreciated. Please contact the PHA Executive Director at (787) 852-7846, Security Director at (787) 852-7715 or the President of the Major Disaster First Aid Response Team, Loyda Sanchez at (787) 850-1478.
Contact PHA - P.O. Box 9027, Humacao, PR 00792-9027 > Telephone: 787-285-6425 > Fax: 787 850-7298
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