Hospitals and community emergency response : what you need to know.

Protecting health care workers who respond to emergencies involving hazardous substances is critical. Health care workers dealing with emergencies may be exposed to chemical, biological, physical, or radioactive hazards. Hospitals providing emergency response services must be prepared to carry out their missions without jeopardizing the safety and health of their own workers. Of special concern are the situations where contaminated patients arrive at the hospital for triage or definitive treatment following a major incident. In many localities, the hospital has not been firmly integrated into the community disaster response system and may not be prepared to safely treat multiple casualties resulting from an incident involving hazardous substances. Increasing awareness of the need to protect health care workers and understanding the principal considerations in emergency response planning will help reduce the risk of health care worker exposure to hazardous substances