rigate body.
-After treating the patient, decontaminate yourself. Clothing may need to be disposed of.
Phases of decontamination
-Gross decontamination is the removal or chemical alteration of the majority of the contaminant.
-Secondary contamination is the alteration or removal of most of the residual product contamination. It provides a more thorough decontamination than the gross effort.
Mechanisms of decontamination
-Emulsification is the production of unmixable/insoluble materials using an emulsifying agent such as soap or detergent.
-Chemical reaction is a process that neutralizes, degrades, or otherwise chemically alters the contaminate. not recommended for use on living tissue
-Disinfection is the process that removes the biological contamination hazards as the disinfectant destroys microorganisms and their toxins
-Dilution is the process that simply reduces the concentration of the contaminant.
-Absorption and adsorption is the penetration of a liquid or gas into another substance.
-Removal is the physical process of removing contaminants by pressure or vacuum.
-Disposal is the aseptic removal of a contaminated object from a host, after which the object is disposed of
-Determine appropriate level of protective equipment based on materials and associated hazards
-Properly wear and operate in PPE
-Establish operating time log
-Set up and operate the decontamination line
-Prioritize the decontamination of patients according to triage system
-Perform triage in PPE
-Be able to communicate while in PPE
Decontamination for patients wearing PPE
-Rinse, starting at head and working down
-Scrub the suit with a brush, starting at the head and working down. Pay special attention to heavily contaminated areas
-Rinse again starting at head and working down
-Assist the responder in removing the PPE
-Contain the runoff of hazardous wastewater.
Decontamination for patients not wearing PPE
-Have patient remove any materials trapping materials to skin.
-Double bag their clothing for disposal or decontamination later
-Patient should receive a a 2 to 5 min water rinse.
-Solids or particulate contaminants should brushed off lightly.
-Rinsing should start at head to reduce spreading to eyes nose or mouth.
Multiple casualty incident
-Any medical or trauma incident involving multiple patients
-Most common is an automobile crash involving 3 or more patients.
-A predefined set of instructions that tells a community's various emergency responders what to do in specific emergencies.
List of what the disaster plan should be
-Written to address the events that are conceivable for a particular location
National incident management system
-The management system used by federal, state, and local governments to manage emergencies in the U.S.
Incident command system
-A subset of the NIMS designed specifically for management of multiple casualty incidents
-The first on scene to establish order and initiate the incident command system
Single incident command
-Command organization in which a single agency controls all resources and operations
-Often used at fire and rescue incidents
-Command organization in which several agencies work independently but cooperatively
-The person or persons who assume overall direction of a large scale incident
-Best way to manage resources in most communities