Emergency Management

Author(s):
Terri Rebmann, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC Director, Institute for Biosecurity, and Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Saint Louis University, College for Public Health and Social Justice
St Louis, MO

Published:
October 2, 2014
Declarations of Conflicts of Interest:
  • Terri Rebmann reports that she is a member of the CBIC Board of Directors (as of 2020); she also works as a paid per diem subject-matter expert for Elsevier, editing online courses/modules on topics related to infectious diseases, infection prevention, and disasters.

Abstract

Many types of disasters may potentially affect healthcare, ranging from natural disasters to man-made events. Emergency management is the process by which an individual, facility, and/or community uses mitigation strategies to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from all types of disasters/emergencies and mass casualty events. To accomplish this, an all-hazards approach must be utilized. Emergency management is a multidepartmental, multiagency endeavor that requires coordination and communication among many groups to be most effective. It is essential that infection preventionists participate in all phases of the emergency management process to decrease the mental health impact, costs, morbidity, and mortality related to mass casualty incidents.