NEW YORK NURSE: July/August 2007
by Verlia Brown, MA, RN, C
In June I attended the American Nurses Association Health Policy Conference in Atlanta, Ga. This is the first conference of its kind, and replaces one of the biannual ANA conventions. Conventions now will be held every four years and the ANA House of Delegates will meet every two years.
Over 400 nurses attended from across the U.S., representing a wide range of practice settings and both union members and nonunion members.
The conference topic was “Dealing with Nursing Care in Life, Death, and Disaster,” with sessions covering a broad range of topics including the federal response to emergencies, community preparedness, and recognizing the implications for professional licensure when nurses respond to a disaster.
I was especially fascinated by the real-life experiences of nurses who responded after Hurricane Katrina to provide care in New Orleans and Houston. Their stories illustrated how quickly the established systems of care break down in a widespread emergency and how individual practitioners are forced to make crucial decisions on their own.
Expert panelists dealt with the issues surrounding standards of care during a disaster and the impact of a public health disaster on a facility’s accreditation. On the second day of the conference, nurses were invited to address the panel.
The conference discussions will be part of a white paper being developed by an ANA work group. In addition to ANA, the group included representatives from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), The Joint Commission, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and the American Red Cross.
The white paper, titled “Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Circumstances,” will provide a source of guidance to both RNs and state policymakers when planning for disaster preparedness.
Some of the issues that emerged during the discussion:
Who makes decisions related to treatment or access to resources when resources, such as medications, are limited?
How can healthcare professionals and first responders establish and maintain links?
What provisions can be made for patients affected by mental illness or substance abuse?
A pandemic illness was a common scenario for a future disaster that would require the guidelines created by the white paper. In preparing for such a calamity, nurses and other healthcare practitioners must recognize the nature of a pandemic and its implications for response planning.
The white paper will be revised and is expected to be published in the fall. Its principles will form the basis for partnership and dialogue with the CDC, constituent nurses associations, and the federal Agency for Health Care Quality Research. It is expected that they will be reflected in the ANA Code of Ethics, Joint Commission standards, and the National Institute for Care Management system.
As a member of my facility’s rapid response team, I believe the conference pointed in the right direction to assist RNs who must provide care during a disaster. I also was pleased that the ANA, the voice of nursing in the U.S., took the lead on this issue.
Enjoy the last few weeks of the summer!