Preparedness And Mitigation Of Hurricane Katrina

Over the past ten years, starting in 2005 with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina there have been a number of natural disasters that have called for massive recovery efforts to revitalize the impacted communities. According to CBC Arts (2010) there were six deadly events including hurricanes, earthquakes, cyclones, and tsunamis that killed approximately 480 thousand individuals. In addition to these unfortunate fatalities, millions more people were affected and in need of life saving health care treatments. In times of crisis, the health care infrastructure is one that is constantly challenged. When devastation strikes, roadways are compromised and water and electricity supplies are limited further inhibiting adequate medical care to …show more content…
This study also reviewed ways to improve health preparedness and mitigation plans during periods of devastation. The lack of preparedness leads to gaps in the supply chain to provide adequate care, services, and medications to the traumatized areas. While there are obvious reasons to gaps in the supply chain during periods of devastation, in the 2013 study Valdez and Nichols found that there are several reason why the health care system experience staffing shortages during the time of crisis. The study found that in addition to the day-to-day challenges that affect motivation, health care professionals lack obligation during times of crisis due to fear for their own safety. The study shows that in times of crisis, health care workers have concerns for their own safety and concerns for the welfare and safety of their loved-ones thus affecting their decision to operate during times of …show more content…
Disaster affects everyone and is likely to occur in any type of organization or community and all leaders have a responsibility to plan for both expected and unexpected events (VanVactor, 2011). Preventing voluntary absenteeism of health care works that lack motivation and obligation during crisis is an added challenge when preparing for disaster (Valdez & Nichol, 2013). As a solution to these issues, in both articles the authors stress the importance of logistics planning that includes the collaboration with internal and external partners before and during times of crisis. The collaborative planning phase allows for the development of contingency plans and additional training efforts. This also allows for the establishment of solid lines of communication and expectations for all individuals involved. Lastly, the collaborative planning phases also helps to ensure that the right supplies and staff are available, accessible, and ready to engage when needed. In addition, the authors suggest the incorporation of motivation theories that can be used facilitate and guide the planning phases in a way that would ensure that adequate health care personnel are present in the face of