A big part of an ambulatory care center's preparation for disasters is to plan how to manage the increased risk for transmission of infectious disease. To assist this effort, the Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) recently released Infection Prevention for Ambulatory Care Centers During Disasters.
Terri Rebmann, PhD, RN, lead author of the guide and Associate Professor at Saint Louis University, College for Public Health and Social Justice - Institute for Biosecurity, often travels around the country speaking to people about the critical importance of planning, finding that most ACCs currently have no infection control plans for disaster, according to an article on MedScape.com. It was clear to Rebmann that guidance must be made widely available to help ACCs, large and small, develop emergency management plans for infection control suited to their unique roles in the community during a disaster.
Medscape spoke with Dr. Rebmann, and guide contributor Mark McCaulley, MD, from Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, about the aims and goals of the guide and how ACCs can take full advantage of these evidence-based recommendations.
Read the article.
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