(P1-50) Pilot Study: The Challenges of Full Scale Radiation Decontamination Drills with Special Needs Populations

Abstract

Special needs populations are often excluded from emergency preparedness plans, despite their vulnerability. As defined by the CDC one aspect of special needs is physical disabilities which include mobility issues. In 2009 the CDC reported 16% of the US non-institutionalized population as having a physical disability. The literature is limited and empirical evidence on addressing the needs of disabled individuals in disaster preparedness is sparse. This demonstrates the need for guidelines on how to plan for the needs of individuals with physical disabilities during disasters. In July 2010 a coalition of hospitals in Central Brooklyn, NY, University Hospital Brooklyn, Kings County Hospital Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Hospital Center conducted full scale radiological decontamination exercises which incorporated people with physical disabilities. The exercises utilized the same set of drill participants; 17 total victims and 4 victims with physical disabilities that included 2 wheelchair bound nonmobile victims. The exercise required the HAZMAT teams to address in their decontamination plan the use of accessible equipment for nonmobile individuals. As a pilot study, we hypothesized that the hospitals would be unprepared to decontaminate special needs victims, especially the nonmobile victims based on guidelines published by the US Department of Health and Human Services. By conducting this exercise we found that the hospitals were unprepared to effectively decontaminate special needs victims. We also had a secondary finding that showed that the exercise failed to reach the primary goal also because of the artificiality of the drill. By utilizing healthy actors to assume the role of special needs victims, we found that many of the challenges of special needs victims were bypassed. We share the lessons learned in this drill in both the decontamination of special needs victims and how to prevent the short cuts that can occur in drills that simulate real life scenarios.