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As the developers of Disaster Preparedness and Response in Texas
Hospitals, Part I, Hospital Emergency Preparedness Planning, Bioterrorism
and Response, the Institute is qualified to coordinate, orient and
train hospital personnel and regional disaster planners on bioterrorism
preparedness. Disaster Preparedness and Response was designed to
aid hospitals as they face the challenge of regionalized planning
in a geographically large, ethnically diverse state such as Texas.
This project addressed the needs of hospitals that are struggling
to meet daily demands for healthcare services, manage a mass casualty
or bioterrorism situation with community partners, and transition
from a single organization mindset to that of a community focus.
Disaster Preparedness and Response was developed by more than 100
experts in emergency response and hospital planning from organizations
throughout Texas. Disaster Preparedness and Response in Texas Hospitals:
Part I, Hospital Emergency Preparedness Planning, Bioterrorism Preparedness
and Response was designed to assist all Texas hospitals in their
preparation for a bioterrorist act, contagious disease outbreak,
or other public health threat or emergency. The document is the
first publication of its kind to be developed for regional and community
bioterrorist planning.
The Texas hospitals originally targeted to receive Disaster and
Response included all licensed hospital facilities, state hospitals,
Veteran's administration facilities, and military hospitals. Since
the release of the 1st edition, it has become clear that while the
original audience was specifically hospitals, the entire disaster
response community finds the guidance document information useful
as they participate in regionalized preparedness efforts. Therefore
the 2nd edition is available to a wider audience via the Texas Department
of Health (TDH) and Texas Institute for Health Policy web sites.
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