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Air quality in many regions of the US is poor today due to drifting smoke from wildfires in Quebec. People with asthma, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, heart disease and other conditions are at especially high risk for complications and should consider remaining indoors or masking outdoors. Check your local air quality conditions. Review CDC Wildfire Guidance.
Your Response May Meet Your Emergency Preparedness Requirement
If your facility makes any changes to your operations or approach to patient care in response to the air quality alert, your experience qualifies as a Real World Event or Actual Emergency. To meet the requirement, you must follow these steps:
- Call a meeting/huddle to discuss the potential health-related risks of the air quality to the patients.
- Provide a sign-in sheet to document attendance.
- Take notes documenting the discussion/ and decisions regarding:
- Any changes to the facility’s air handling system, closing of windows, etc.
- Any changes in policies.
- Changes to patient procedures (remaining indoors, wearing masks).
- Guidance being used to make their decisions.
- Planned meetings to re-assess the situation.
- Procurement of additional resources to meet the needs of the facility or patients, including where they will come from and who will provide them.
- Document subsequent meetings as the situation continues.
- Once the hazardous conditions subside, gather the group to discuss what worked, what didn’t work, and what would be done differently in the future. Note whether any policies or procedures have been changed as a result of this incident.
Contact your QIN-QIO for additional support. Email us at ipronursinghometeam@ipro.org, or call us toll-free at 888-502-0566.
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