Do we have your email?
Click here to sign up for MARC news & updates.
Need
to update facility staff who receive MARC mail?
Click here to submit changes.
|
|
| |
Chronic dialysis facilities and patients
are usually not included in state and local disaster plans
and must therefore plan for their own survival. Because dialysis
facilities provide life-sustaining treatment to patients with
renal failure, it is imperative that they be as prepared as
possible in the event of an emergency. Dialysis facilities
should notify the following organizations during their
emergency planning phase to ensure external support in
the event of a disaster:
- Local/regional emergency planning department
- Local/regional health department
- Local/regional social services department
- Emergency responders (fire, law enforcement, rescue)
- Utility providers (electricity, water, gas, telephone)
- Transportation vendors
Patients should likewise prepare themselves
for emergency situations that may prevent them from getting
to their dialysis treatment. The information
and resources provided below can help facilities and patients
get started.
Pandemic Influenza
Please visit our Pandemic
Flu webpage to learn more about potential pandemics and
what is being done to prepare for them.
Sign up to receive
email
updates from the CDC! Complete a subscription profile,
and you will get updated information on the items of interest
to you, including influenza and avian flu.
What We Can Do to Assist You...
MARC can assist individuals and providers/facilities
in planning for an emergency or disaster by providing resources
and direction to agencies that specialize in emergency planning
and response. During emergencies, we will provide the following
services:
- Track and make available the open and closed status of
facilities in affected areas
- Assist patients and facilities in identifying dialysis
facilities that can provide ESRD services.
- Assist family members and treating facilities in determining
the dialysis location of displaced patients in order to
exchange critical medical information
- Coordinate with providers and emergency workers to ensure
patient access to dialysis
Each facility must designate 2
Disaster Contacts and provide their names and at least
2 telephone numbers at which each can be reached during an
event. Facility representatives are required to report their
open or closed status to the Network office as soon as possible.
"Open" facilities are
defined as facilities that have potable water, electricity
from any source, and supplies and staff sufficient to provide
dialysis, and that are performing dialysis. Anything less
than this is considered "closed."
To determine the open or closed status of a dialysis facility
in an impacted area and the services being provided, or to
get a map showing the nearest open facility in the event of
an emergency or disaster, go to http://dialysisunits.com.
Following an emergency event, facilities
are required to report patient movement (including transient
patients dialyzing in your unit) using the Disaster
Patient Activity Report (DPAR). This report should
be submitted to the Network office on Day 5 post-event, and
then twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday) until notified.
If MARC is impacted by an event, another ESRD Network will
be designated to assist you. To find out which ESRD
Network has been designated to assist in your state, call
the Network 5 office at (804) 794-3757.
The KCER Coalition has developed a standardized
emergency data set that facilities should
produce and distribute to patients on at least a quarterly
basis. This data set includes the patient's name,
address, emergency contacts' information, home dialysis unit
information, treatment information, and medications, and patients
should be instructed to carry the information with them at
all times in case they are displaced by an emergency event
and must dialyze at a different facility.
MARC is part of the National
Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition,
which has developed a number of tools and resources to assist
providers, federal, state, and local emergency responders,
patients, and patients' families in establishing emergency
preparedness and response plans. Below are links to a number
of resources created by the Coalition, as well as additional
materials to assist facilities and patients in preparing for
emergencies.
State
Health & Emergency Management Agencies...
Virginia
Department of Health's Emergency Preparedness & Response
Programs
Virginia
Department of Emergency Management
Maryland
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
Maryland
Emergency Management Agency Prepardeness Information
West
Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources' Health
Preparedness
West Virginia
Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management
District
of Columbia Department of Health
District
of Columbia Emergency Management Agency
For Patients...
Resources for coping
with disasters *NEW*
(from MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library
of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)
Preparing
for Emergencies: A Guide for People on Dialysis (PDF)
Each new dialysis patient receives a copy of this helpful
booklet, which contains information on gathering and carrying
important medical information, making alternative arrangements
for treatment, and what diet to follow if dialysis must be
delayed during an emergency. This guide was published by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A Spanish
version (PDF) is also available.
Planning
for Natural Disasters and Other Types of Emergencies (PDF)
This publication, produced by the National Kidney Foundation
and the TransPacific Renal Network, is a guide for both dialysis
facilities and patients preparing for emergencies.
Save
a Life - What You Need to Know about Emergency Preparedness
for Individuals with Kidney Disease (courtesy of the Coalition)
(PDF) This document explains what is required in order to
provide dialysis treatments, as well as what providers, patients,
and emergency responders should do to prepare and provide
for dialysis patients during an emergency.
Key Information
to Help Individuals with Kidney Failure during an Emergency
or Disaster (courtesy of the Coalition) (PDF) This 1-page
document has contact information and links to a variety of
important services, including the ESRD Networks, how to obtain
the status of dialysis facilities, where to register as or
find volunteer staff, assistance for transplant patients,
and information on available supplies, equipment, and medications.
The
Nephron Information Center has an extensive
website dedicated to disaster preparedness for kidney patients
and their providers, including an evacuee emergency data form
that can be downloaded, completed, and taken with patients
to other dialysis facilities.
Hurricane
Information for Evacuees & Other Affected Persons
(from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) Information
that can be applied to hurricanes as well as other disasters.
Index
of Printable Disaster Materials (from the Centers for
Disease Control & Prevention) This list includes a number
of safety and recovery publications that can be downloaded
in as many as 8 different languages.
Canned
Food: How Long Can You Safely Keep It? (from the Mayo
Clinic) Commercially prepared canned food has a fairly long
shelf life.
Managing
Diabetes during a Disaster: 6 Steps to Safety (from the
Mayo Clinic) Managing diabetes during a disaster requires
careful planning. Start preparing now.
Reference
Guide to Water System Emergencies (from the Virginia Beach
Department of Public Utilities) Critical Care Facilities newsletter
to assist facilities and patients in preparing an emergency
water supply plan.
For Dialysis Providers...
Resources for coping
with disasters *NEW*
(from MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library
of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)
Adapting
Standards of Care under Extreme Conditions *NEW*
Download this FREE guide, published by the American
Nurses Association, for information on ethics and standards
that apply to making decisions about care during extreme or
unusual circumstances, such as emergencies, disasters, and
pandemics.
Sign up to receive email
updates from the CDC! Complete a subscription profile,
and you will get updated information on the items of interest
to you, including emergency preparedness and response.
Emergency Preparedness for Dialysis Facilities (PDF) This
publication was prepared by the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services to assist dialysis facilities in the mitigation,
preparation, response, and recovery associated with an emergency
situation. It helps facilities to ensure the safety of employees
and patients, assure the availability of dialysis care, protect
medical and business records, mitigate property and content
damage, and return to normal operations as soon as possible.
Planning
for Natural Disasters and Other Types of Emergencies (PDF)
This publication, produced by the National Kidney Foundation
and the TransPacific Renal Network, is a guide for both dialysis
facilities and patients preparing for emergencies.
In October 2001, the American
Nephrology Nurses Association published a "Disaster
Preparedness" issue of the Nephrology Nursing Journal.
Below are links to some of the articles it contained:
- Disaster
Preparedness: Is Your Unit Ready? (PDF) by Caroline
Counts, MSN, RN, CNN
- Emergency
Preparedness Guidelines for Water Treatment Systems
(PDF) by Rebecca Amata, BSN, RN, CNN
- Proper
Planning and Networking are Key in Preparing for Disasters
(PDF) by Mary Ann Gould, MSN, RN, CNN
- Surviving
a 500-Year Flood (PDF) by Holly Fadness McFarland, MSN,
RN, CNN
- Emergency
and Disaster Planning: Patient Education and Preparation
(PDF) by Elizabeth Howard, RN, CNN, and Karen Wiseman, MSN,
RN, CNN
- Emotional
Trauma Associated with Renal Disease and Natural Disasters
(PDF) by Martha Jean McClellan, MDiv, BA
Extended
Care Facility Emergency Response Guidelines (PDF) Guidelines
for basic emergency planning, response, and recovery (from
the Virginia Department of Health)
Water
Safety & Infection Control following a Disaster - for
Healthcare (Dialysis) Professionals (from the Centers
for Disease Control & Prevention)
Reference
Guide to Water System Emergencies (from the Virginia Beach
Department of Public Utilities) Critical Care Facilities newsletter
to assist facilities and patients in preparing an emergency
water supply plan.
Index
of Printable Disaster Materials for Healthcare Professionals
(from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) This
list includes a number of safety and recovery publications
that can be downloaded in as many as 8 different languages.
Hurricane-related
Information for Healthcare Professionals (from the Centers
for Disease Control & Prevention) Includes information
on immunization, medical records, licensing and legal requirements,
infection control, and much more.
Save a
Life - What You Need to Know about Emergency Preparedness
for Individuals with Kidney Disease (courtesy of the Coalition)
(PDF) This document explains what is required in order to
provide dialysis treatments, as well as what providers, patients,
and emergency responders should do to prepare and provide
for dialysis patients during an emergency.
Key Information
to Help Individuals with Kidney Failure during an Emergency
or Disaster (courtesy of the Coalition) (PDF) This 1-page
document has contact information and links to a variety of
important services, including the ESRD Networks, how to obtain
the status of dialysis facilities, where to register as or
find volunteer staff, assistance for transplant patients,
and information on available supplies, equipment, and medications.
The
Nephron Information Center has an extensive website dedicated
to disaster preparedness for kidney patients and their providers,
including an evacuee emergency data form that can be downloaded,
completed, and taken with patients to other dialysis facilities.
Find or offer volunteer
staffing during an emergency.
*Information provided in the above links is subject to
change in the event of a disaster.
|
 |
|
|
|