A new self-assessment tool provides hospitals with a means of evaluating decontamination plans and capabilities against current regulatory standards, recommendations from subject matter experts, and national and international health care decontamination best practices. The Hospital Decontamination Self-Assessment Tool helps hospitals plan for, and respond to, small and large-scale incidents requiring the decontamination of patients contaminated by or exposed to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents. The tool is intended for use by hospital emergency preparedness planners, hospital decontamination team members, and other personnel with a responsibility for their facility’s decontamination plans and procedures.
The Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management website offers a comprehensive, user-friendly, web-based resource that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible.
This resource was developed to enable first responders, first receivers, other healthcare providers, and planners to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of mass-casualty incidents involving chemicals.
The intent of the attached tool is to provide hospitals with planning guidance for managing the waste water and runoff generated by decontamination of victims presenting to the facility for emergency care and treatment.
This document provides recommendations for protecting healthcare providers and managing patients in the event of a hazardous materials exposure. Content was compiled through nationally recognized, current practice standards and formatted into user-friendly materials.
In addition, compliance with regulatory agencies such as the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA), State of California Water Resources Control Board and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) were considered. These recommendations, developed for hospitals by hospital experts, will be revised and updated as indicated by practice or need.
