Products and equipment
- Introduction
- Premier products and contracted suppliers
- Products and equipment for emergency preparedness
- General resources
Introduction
Emergency preparedness planning requires a wide variety of supplies, equipment and resources, including personal protective equipment (PPE), decontamination equipment, and training. Planning should include collaborating with local emergency planning committees, local/state public health departments, and area hospitals to determine the supplies, equipment, and resources each healthcare facility needs to handle a disaster.
Basic emergency planning for supplies does not mean stockpiling within the facility. A taskforce with representatives from the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), and other key organizations has persuaded federal agencies to use existing supply channels, rather than facility-level stockpiles, to support hospitals in an emergency. (See Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 17 Critical Benchmarks for Bioterrorism Preparedness.) The consensus among hospital and industry groups is that the medical supply chain is capable of providing emergency responders with the necessary tools in the event of a disaster, and that relying on existing supply channels for emergency preparedness is a better solution than facility-level stockpiling.
Premier products and contracted suppliers
Many products generally available and routinely used in healthcare facilities may also be used in emergency preparedness/safety planning. Other specialized items – for example, Level C equipment like powered respirators – are used primarily in emergency preparedness. The Safety Institute's emergency preparedness products file lists products and equipment that may be considered when developing an emergency preparedness supply inventory. This file is intended to serve only as an example and may not include all items and contracted suppliers that should be considered. Premier members should consult Premier’s Supply Chain Advisor for detailed information on the products in each contract.
Products and equipment for emergency preparedness
Healthcare facilities purchase many of the supplies and materials needed for safety and emergency preparedness on a regular basis from a variety of companies. Some of these routine supplies may also be designated for a disaster supply inventory. In addition, emergency preparedness requires specialized equipment and supplies. Many companies with comprehensive emergency-preparedness, safety-related equipment offer catalogs, some of which are available online.
Product categories
The following table provides some sample categories and subcategories of search terms that may be useful in locating specific healthcare products, equipment, and training services for emergency preparedness.
| Category | Subcategories |
| Apparel – Personal or protective clothing | Eye, face, head, foot, hearing protection; respiratory protection |
| Personal protective equipment (PPE) | |
| PPE response kits (A, B, C, D) |
Example: first responder level C kit |
| Clinical diagnostics | Clinical diagnostics; sample collection/transportation; swabs, wipes |
| Decontamination | Spill control |
| Detection; monitoring | Detection instruments; personal alarm kits; gas detection instruments |
| Fire equipment | Extinguishers |
| First aid | Blankets, kits |
| Mail handling products | Powder-free gloves, bags |
| Monitoring | |
| Operations; traffic safety | Crowd control, flashlights, signs, barricades |
| Safety | First aid, personal protection |
| Surge capacity | Temporary negative pressure units |
| Training resources | Health & training services; respiratory protection training, hearing and biological screening |
Online catalogs
Following are links to some online catalogs from companies/distributors with healthcare safety-related products that may be useful in emergency preparedness. Please note that this list is not meant to be all-inclusive.
Allegiance Healthcare Inc.
Product categories include safety (such as chemical handling/storage, first aid, personal protection, sharps/biomedical/waste disposal); apparel and textiles (such as gloves), laboratory supplies; and specimen collection (such as transport systems).
http://www.allegiance.net Go to "browse catalog."
Fisher Healthcare
Product categories include PPE (such as apparel, eye, face head, hearing, foot and respiratory protection); clinical diagnostics (such as sample collection equipment); and decontamination (such as spill control, hazardous materials management). Special features include links to resources such as definitions for PPE Levels A, B C and D, first responder kits, training services, and IAB’s standardized equipment list (SEL) noted above.
http://www.Fishersci.com Go to "Inside Fisher" then "Homeland security and preparedness."
Fisher Safety provides fully customized web based and on-site training and consulting services that assist organizations’ employees in complying with the numerous federal, state, and local safety, health and environmental regulations associated with the workplace. Fisher Safety training services helps employees recognize and correct unsafe situations, respond appropriately in the event of an emergency situation and permit them to work with confidence. On-line training is available as well. Go to:
https://www1.fishersci.com/safety/supportservices/safe_supportservices.jsp
Grainger Inc.
Grainger offers a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare and emergency preparedness markets and is extremely qualified to handle facilities’ needs. Grainger provides solutions for incident command and response, surge capacity, isolation, pandemic preparedness, decontamination, communications, air purification, evacuation, personal protection, patient tracking, power generation and emergency food supplies. For further information, go to the emergency resource center:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/static/rc_emergency.html&linkA
3M
The main page lists several useful sites. The major product category, health & safety services, includes respiratory, hearing, eyes/head and face protection, personal monitoring systems, health screening; and hearing conservation. Special features include tools and publications with links to safety training resources and publications on basic respirator use.
HAZMAT DQE
HazMat DQE specializes in protecting hospital personnel and first responders in emergencies involving hazardous materials. Product categories include assessment, equipment (such as protective apparel and portable showers), consulting and training, and a hospital decontamination program (based on OSHA requirements). A frequently asked questions (FAQ) link provides helpful information on products and training.
General resources
Following are selected online resources addressing safety-related building, equipment and supply needs.
Surge capacity and building design - Joint Commission; JCR
The Joint Commission (JCAHO) and its affiliate Joint Commission Resources (JCR) released a free web-based publication on surge hospitals in December, 2005. Surge hospitals are designed to assist the community in absorbing an overwhelming number of patients seeking care during emergencies, such as mass-casualty events or infectious disease outbreaks. Surge hospitals provide care when permanent facilities exhaust their capacity or cannot operate because of damage or other conditions This guide describes the different possibilities, such as shuttered hospitals, closed wards in existing hospitals, and mobile facilities, and the design considerations for each. It explores the challenges of planning for, establishing and operating surge hospitals, such as obtaining sufficient staff, supplies and equipment and providing safe care.
Surge Hospitals: Providing Safe Care in Emergencies (.pdf) (348 KB)
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) "Airborne Infectious Disease Management Manual – Methods for Temporary Negative Pressure Isolation"
This user guide was written to assist hospitals in developing strategies for temporary negative pressure isolation and provides instruction on the use of equipment used for airborne infectious disease management. Preventative maintenance schedules and a sample log for measuring particle counts are included for performance improvement planning. Additional information including slides for training are located at the Web site below.
Download manual (.pdf) (3 MB)
http://www.health.state.mn.us/oep/training/bhpp/isolation.html
Surge Capacity - MERET- Minnesota Emergency Preparedness Education and Training
The MERET site has six modules including one on isolation and one on how to develop Temporary Negative Pressure rooms (TNP).
MERET: http://cpheo1.sph.umn.edu/meret
Decontamination and building design
Building design: AIA – The American Institute of Architects provides guidance on planning and designing decontamination facilities in its Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities 2001.
Building protection: NIOSH guidance for protecting building environments from airborne chemical, biological, or radiological attack.
National resources for pharmaceutical and associated supplies
Push packs: Strategic National Stockpiles (SNS) formerly National Pharmaceutical Stockpiles: CDC’s SNS program on pharmaceutical "push packs" explains how the government plans to supply materials within 12-24 hours of an emergency. The packs, containing both therapeutic and prophylactic medications as well as additional supplies specific to the suspected or confirmed agent, would arrive within 24-36 hours. This plan (referenced in the HHS data sheet 17 Critical Benchmarks for Bioterrorism Preparedness) suggests that there is no value in "stockpiling" supplies that are being maintained for national needs. Nevertheless, prudent planning for all hazards requires that some supplies be maintained for immediate needs.
PPE selection: Decontamination requires selection and practice in identifying the right level of PPE (protection levels A, B, C, D) as well as training and practice in equipment use. A description of each level and other key elements of planning are addressed in this ECRI resource.
Checklists: A recently published checklist includes an inventory of resources and equipment. See the AHRQ Checklist for BT.
IAB: The federal government's InterAgency Board (IAB) for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability offers a standardized equipment list (SEL) of items the government provides for interagency response operations. The 2001 list may be downloaded here.
Case Study: Representatives from hospitals in the northeastern U.S. met to share their experiences in bioterrorism preparedness at a Premier-sponsored Bioterrorism Readiness Networking Forum in July 2002. Inova Health System (Fairfax, VA) presented its plan for supply chain management during a disaster. A sample list of selected products developed by Inova as a safety inventory may be downloaded.