Emergency Preparedness From the Ground Floor Up A Local Agency Perspective

Since the aftermath of September 11, 2001, both man-made and natural events have devastated communities in the United States and around the globe. As a result, individual communities now more than ever recognize the need for emergency and disaster planning. Local community-based home care agencies both large and small must be involved in comprehensive planning-anticipating the next event. The purpose of this article is to describe the yearlong preparation of a local Visiting Nurse Association as they committed to vigorous professional development and subsequently developed the necessary protocols for their own agency. This project was conceived by the authors to serve as an independent study for academic credit for the author enrolled in a RN-MS program and to address an important goal of the home care agency's strategic plan.