September 19, 2003
Today hospitals must prepare not only for natural and accidental disaster management, such as tornados, hurricanes and transportation accidents, but also for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) terrorist incidents. This overview of hospital emergency management for WMD will address the planning process, regulatory issues, and key emergency management action needed for effective hospital response. Also introduced will be hospital hazmat operations and external agencies that need to be included in the planning process.
Mr. Knox Andress, RN is a practicing emergency department nurse and the WMD Response Coordinator at Christus Schumpert Health System, Shreveport, Louisiana. He leads hospital disaster planning and chairs his hospital’s disaster safety team. Mr. Andress also serves on the Shreveport, Metropolitan Medical Response System’s (MMRS) Hospital Committee and is the Region 7 Hospital Coordinator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – Louisiana Hospital Emergency Preparedness for Bioterrorism initiative. He is the chair-elect of the Emergency Nurses Association’s Emergency Preparedness Committee and instructs WMD medical management throughout Louisiana with the Louisiana Homeland Defense Education Team. Knox is a Department of Justice, Office of Domestic Preparedness, WMD Instructor and serves as a consultant to DOJ and SAIC.