Mass casualty incidents, whether man-made or natural, are occurring with increasing frequency and severity. Hospitals and health systems across the United States are striving to be more rigorously prepared more such incidents. Following a mass shooting in 2012 and significant growth and expansion of our hospital and health system in the following years, a need was identified for more staff to support preparedness efforts.

To discuss the roles and responsibilities of Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator (NDPC), a dedicated position in the Emergency Department (ED).

The role of Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator was implemented in 2016, is a part-time position in the Emergency Department and reports to the ED Manager while working closely with the ED Director of Emergency Preparedness and the hospital Emergency Manager. The role addresses all areas of the emergency management continuum, from planning and mitigation to response and recovery.

The NDPC’s responsibilities fall into the categories of all-hazards preparedness, chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) response, and general nursing practice. All-hazards preparedness includes ED staff training, policy and procedure development, and liaising with hospital emergency manager to coordinate hospital-wide efforts. CBRNE response includes the training and maintenance of a patient decontamination team, a high-risk infectious disease team, and their equipment. General nursing practice addresses research, nursing indicators as they apply to disasters, promoting evidence-based practice, and community outreach.

A dedicated Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator has allowed transition from intermittent larger exercises to a regular and frequent exercise schedule and better application of full-scale exercises. Overall, the creation of the role has strengthened hospital readiness for mass casualty incidents while alleviating the vast scope of emergency management responsibilities for a large suburban hospital.