Emergency Preparedness

Kern Medical Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

• Comfort the victims. • Contact appropriate City/County authorities. See Appendix J.4 – Incident Contacts. 3.15.2.1 Shelter-In-Place Terrorist use of Weapons of Mass Destruction may result in the release of radiation, hazardous materials and biological agents in proximity to the hospital. Shelter-In-Place may be the best strategy to minimize risk of exposure to these agents. See Appendix H.24 - Shelter-In-Place Guidelines. Emergency amendments to the California Code of Regulations require that health care providers immediately report to the local health department those diseases that pose a significant public health threat, such as agents of biological terrorism. Kern Medical will report diseases resulting from bioterrorist agents, like other communicable and infectious diseases, to the County Health Department Epidemiologist at (661) 321-3000. 3.15.3.2 Kern Medical response to a bioterrorism incident may be initiated by the C h i e f Executive Officer or Medical Director due to: • The request of local civil authorities. • Government official notification of an outbreak within or near the hospital’s community. • Presentation of a patient with a suspected exposure to a bioterrorist agent. In case of presentation by a patient with suspected exposure to a bioterrorist agent, Kern Medical will follow current CDC response guidelines. 3.15.3.3 Potential indicators of a bioterrorism attack are: • Groups of people becoming ill around the same time. • Sudden increase of illness in previously healthy individuals. • Sudden increase in the following non-specific illnesses:  Pneumonia, flu-like illness, or fever with atypical features.  Bleeding disorders.  Unexplained rashes, and mucosal or skin irritation, particularly in adults.  Neuromuscular illness, like muscle weakness and paralysis.  Diarrhea. • Simultaneous disease outbreaks in human and animal or bird populations. • Unusual temporal or geographic clustering of illness (for example, patients who attended the same public event, live in the same part of town, etc.). Appendix R – Bioterrorism Agents provides a summary table of potential biological warfare agents, including signs, symptoms, transmission, precautions, and treatment. 3.15.3.4 Infection Control Practices for Patient Management Kern Medical will use Standard Precautions to manage all patients, including symptomatic patients with suspected or confirmed bioterrorism- related illnesses. For certain diseases or syndromes (e.g., smallpox and pneumonic plague), additional precautions may be needed to reduce the likelihood for transmission. See Appendix R for specific diseases and requirements for additional isolation precautions. In general, the transport and movement of patients with bioterrorism-related infections, as with patients with any epidemiologically important infections (e.g., pulmonary tuberculosis, chickenpox, measles), should be limited to

3.15.3 Bioterrorism Response 3.15.3.1 Reporting

60 | P a g e