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A Hospital-Based, Hazardous Materials Decontamination and Treatment Unit: Utilization Patterns Over a Nine-Month Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

N. El Sanadi*
Affiliation:
Director of the Emergency Department atUniversity Hospitals of Clevelandand Assistant Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University
C. Grove
Affiliation:
Head Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department atUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland
M. Takacs
Affiliation:
Emergency Department atUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland
S. Daly
Affiliation:
Emergency Department atUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland
D. Ellenberger
Affiliation:
Emergency Department atUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland
*
Director of Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, 2074 Abington Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106USA

Abstract

Federal [U.S.] law and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations mandate plans and mechanisms for response by hospitals to hazardous material incidents/accidents be developed and implemented. This paper describes the response of the University Hospitals of Cleveland to these regulations and to the anticipated needs of the community and local industiy. The physical plant constructed and its relationship to the emergency department personnel for staffing this unit are described. Utilization patterns since implementation of this program are presented.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1993

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