Mellie
Well-known member
IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters)
INFLUENZA PANDEMIC CHECKLIST (updated 1/11/06)
I. PLANNING LOGISTICS
Establish an Incident Management System that meets NFPA 1561, Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System, including written Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Mitigation Plan.
Identify and define roles and responsibilities of Incident Commander who will coordinate the emergency response and the response teams (NFPA 1500, chapter 8.1).
Inter-Agency Cooperation: Establish relationships with community public health department and other emergency management groups.
Define functional roles and responsibilities of internal and external agencies, organizations, departments, and individuals, and establish lines of authority.
Communications Plan: Establish systems and procedures (how, how often, when, what, and to whom will the information be disseminated) and articulate resource requirements.
Set up authorities, triggers, and procedures for activating and terminating response plan.
Develop and plan for scenarios likely to result in an increase or decrease in demand for your services during a pandemic (e.g. search and rescue, assist with quarantine, etc).
Define potential roles outside of usual duties (i.e. assisting healthcare facilities in mobilizing patients from one location to a quarantine location or other unusual activities).
Determine training and define needs for training (NFPA 1600, 5.12).
Implement an exercise/drill to test your plan, and revise periodically. Develop a disaster recovery plan.
II. INFECTION CONTROL
Ensure adoption of an infection control program that meets the requirements of NFPA 1581, Standard on Fire Department Infection Control Program.
Ensure fire department has a written infection control policy statement defining the department?s mission in limiting the exposure of members to infectious diseases during the performance of their assigned duties and while in the fire station living environment.
Ensure fire department has an experienced individual within the department designated as the infection control officer. Ensure availability of all flu vaccines. (Mellie Note: No effective pandemic influenza vaccines are currently available.)
Ensure training and education is a component of the infection control program and includes proper selection and use of personal protective equipment, standard operating procedures for safe work practices in infection control, proper methods of disposal of contaminated articles and medical waste, cleaning and decontamination, exposure management, and medical follow-up.
Ensure fire department implements and enforces hand and skin washing practices and decontamination procedures.
Establish fit testing and skill training on all respirator types used to prevent exposures.
III. Inventory Checklist Community: Develop an understanding of the local community dynamics, available resources, and how they may shift during a pandemic ? size and distribution of population, number and location of health facilities, quarantine sites, transportation issues, large spaces that could be transformed into healthcare or shelter facility, etc.
Resources: Identify requirements during surge capacity (i.e. during a pandemic) ? PPE, medical gloves, P-100 respirators, vaccines, emergency supplies for potential shelter-in-place at worksite, etc.
Establish funding sources for planning process and for surge capacity.
IV. IMPACT ON STAFF
Determine impact on staff ? absenteeism due to illness or attending to ill family member or afraid to come into work, and develop Contingency Plan for such an event.
Determine potential safety issues and plan for prevention Train and prepare ancillary workforce (e.g. contractors, non-first responders, support staff)
Encourage and track vaccination history (annual influenza, HepB, HepA, Td, etc.).
Evaluate staff access to, and availability of, healthcare services during a pandemic.
Services should include mental health and social services.
Establish policies for restricting travel and preventing influenza spread at the worksite.
Encourage proper hygiene practice and universal precautions.
V. RESOURCE ALLOCATION EDUCATION:
Disseminate Influenza Pandemic Information.
Utilize information developed by IAFF and other materials on pandemic.
Communication Channel: establish two-way information flow.
Disseminate information frequently to all staff to prevent misinformation or fears based on rumors.
Establish a dedicated staff member who is responsible for disseminating information.
Staff must also be able to easily provide feedback to designated staff member on what they are facing, including those issues experienced in the field.
Establish funding for training sessions.
INFLUENZA PANDEMIC CHECKLIST (updated 1/11/06)
I. PLANNING LOGISTICS
Establish an Incident Management System that meets NFPA 1561, Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System, including written Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Mitigation Plan.
Identify and define roles and responsibilities of Incident Commander who will coordinate the emergency response and the response teams (NFPA 1500, chapter 8.1).
Inter-Agency Cooperation: Establish relationships with community public health department and other emergency management groups.
Define functional roles and responsibilities of internal and external agencies, organizations, departments, and individuals, and establish lines of authority.
Communications Plan: Establish systems and procedures (how, how often, when, what, and to whom will the information be disseminated) and articulate resource requirements.
Set up authorities, triggers, and procedures for activating and terminating response plan.
Develop and plan for scenarios likely to result in an increase or decrease in demand for your services during a pandemic (e.g. search and rescue, assist with quarantine, etc).
Define potential roles outside of usual duties (i.e. assisting healthcare facilities in mobilizing patients from one location to a quarantine location or other unusual activities).
Determine training and define needs for training (NFPA 1600, 5.12).
Implement an exercise/drill to test your plan, and revise periodically. Develop a disaster recovery plan.
II. INFECTION CONTROL
Ensure adoption of an infection control program that meets the requirements of NFPA 1581, Standard on Fire Department Infection Control Program.
Ensure fire department has a written infection control policy statement defining the department?s mission in limiting the exposure of members to infectious diseases during the performance of their assigned duties and while in the fire station living environment.
Ensure fire department has an experienced individual within the department designated as the infection control officer. Ensure availability of all flu vaccines. (Mellie Note: No effective pandemic influenza vaccines are currently available.)
Ensure training and education is a component of the infection control program and includes proper selection and use of personal protective equipment, standard operating procedures for safe work practices in infection control, proper methods of disposal of contaminated articles and medical waste, cleaning and decontamination, exposure management, and medical follow-up.
Ensure fire department implements and enforces hand and skin washing practices and decontamination procedures.
Establish fit testing and skill training on all respirator types used to prevent exposures.
III. Inventory Checklist Community: Develop an understanding of the local community dynamics, available resources, and how they may shift during a pandemic ? size and distribution of population, number and location of health facilities, quarantine sites, transportation issues, large spaces that could be transformed into healthcare or shelter facility, etc.
Resources: Identify requirements during surge capacity (i.e. during a pandemic) ? PPE, medical gloves, P-100 respirators, vaccines, emergency supplies for potential shelter-in-place at worksite, etc.
Establish funding sources for planning process and for surge capacity.
IV. IMPACT ON STAFF
Determine impact on staff ? absenteeism due to illness or attending to ill family member or afraid to come into work, and develop Contingency Plan for such an event.
Determine potential safety issues and plan for prevention Train and prepare ancillary workforce (e.g. contractors, non-first responders, support staff)
Encourage and track vaccination history (annual influenza, HepB, HepA, Td, etc.).
Evaluate staff access to, and availability of, healthcare services during a pandemic.
Services should include mental health and social services.
Establish policies for restricting travel and preventing influenza spread at the worksite.
Encourage proper hygiene practice and universal precautions.
V. RESOURCE ALLOCATION EDUCATION:
Disseminate Influenza Pandemic Information.
Utilize information developed by IAFF and other materials on pandemic.
Communication Channel: establish two-way information flow.
Disseminate information frequently to all staff to prevent misinformation or fears based on rumors.
Establish a dedicated staff member who is responsible for disseminating information.
Staff must also be able to easily provide feedback to designated staff member on what they are facing, including those issues experienced in the field.
Establish funding for training sessions.
