Assessing hospital emergency management plans: A guide for infection preventionists

BACKGROUND: Hospital emergency management plans are essential and must include input from an infection preventionist (IP). Multiple hospital planning documents exist, but many do not address infection prevention issues, combine them with noninfection prevention issues, or are disease/event specific. An all-encompassing emergency management planning guide for IPs is needed. METHODS: A literature review and Internet search were conducted in December 2008. Data from relevant sources were extracted. A spreadsheet was created that delineated hospital emergency management plan components of interest to IPs. RESULTS: Of the sources screened, 49 were deemed relevant. Eleven domains were identified: (1) having a plan; (2) assessing hospital readiness; (3) having infection prevention policies and procedures; (4) having occupational health policies and procedures; (5) conducting surveillance and triage; (6) reporting incidents, having a communication plan, and managing information; (7) having laboratory support; (8) addressing surge capacity issues; (9) having anti-infective therapy and/or vaccines; (10) providing infection prevention education; and (11) managing physical plant issues. CONCLUSION: Infection preventionists should use this article as an assessment tool for evaluating their hospital emergency management plan and for developing policies and procedures that will decrease the risk of infection transmission during a mass casualty event.