The performance-level model of hospital decontamination preparedness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2008.0021Keywords:
hospital, decontamination, CBRNE, WMD, performance-based, standardsAbstract
Objective: Describe a multilevel model of decontamination capacity for hospitals.
Design: Descriptive model.
Setting: Acute care hospitals with decontamination responsibilities.
Patients, Participants: None.
Interventions: None.
Main Outcome Measure(s): None
Results: This multilevel model of defining decontamination capacity would allow more realistic assessment of current capacity, allow for fluctuating service levels depending on time of day, incorporate realistic ramp-up and ramp-down of decontamination services, allow for a defined fall-back decontamination model should decontamination processes fail, allow hospitals to define long-term decontamination service level goals, and allow better understanding of when and why to focus on low-risk/low-resource patients rather than high-risk/high-resource patients.
Conclusions: This multiple-level model would allow for more realistic and effective hospital-based decontamination service models and should become part of the national decontamination paradigm.
References
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