Emergency management program operational responses to weapons of mass destruction: Veterans Health Administration, 2001-2004.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recognition of chemical emergencies, terrorist events, and ongoing threats, little practical guidance exists for healthcare facilities.

METHODS: An approach and materials developed by the Veterans Health Administration in a five-element program over the last 2 years to enhance the existing emergency management program is outlined. Nine steps to the development of a comprehensive all-hazards, emergency plan and program, with auditing and improvement tools are offered.

RESULTS: Cognitive aids for clinical use are available on-line and in hard copy. A hazard assessment modeled patients as emission sources documenting the operations strategies under which level C personal protective equipment will protect healthcare workers. The development of this response program appears to support a broader, long-standing VHA approach to problem solving. This involves bringing together individual talented field staff, representing specific skills, geographic regions, and work styles; investing in face-to-face consensus development; and developing programs with extensive internal peer-review ("field-based," "bottom-up and top-down," and external reviews).

CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive and effective programs can be constructed at low cost with reasonable speed within large systems with a public mandate, leading to responsible use of public funds internally, and as models for private sector programs. It is the long-term operational cost implications, under budget constraints in health care, which often present the true challenge.