Assessment 3 Instructions: Disaster Recovery Plan PRINT Develop a disaster recovery plan to lessen health disparities and improve access to community services after a disaster. Then, develop and record a 10-12 slide presentation (please refer to the PowerPoint tutorial) of the plan with audio and speaker notes for the Vila Health system, city officials, and the disaster relief team. Disaster Recovery Plan Script-Vila Health Community As you begin to prepare this assessment, you are encouraged to complete the Disaster Preparedness and Management activity.

Cultural, Social, and Economic Barriers Impacting Safety, Health, and Recovery Efforts in the Community

Several factors impact the safety, health, and recovery efforts in communities. Cultural barriers such as poor health-seeking behaviour, poor cultural practices, and individual belief in alternative therapies may affect the safety and health of these individuals. In the presence of diverse groups, as seen in the Vila Health scenarios, not addressing these issues may compromise the safety of some individuals. The presence of immigrants in the Vila society may also present communication challenges as language barriers may be apparent. Socioeconomic barriers include the unavailability of resources, poverty, poor access to food, and others. The Vila scenario depicts specific vulnerabilities on socioeconomic fronts that may impact recovery plans. Homelessness and restricted hospital funds to procure quality and effective equipment and to expand Valley City Regional Hospital’s workforce may hinder the effectiveness of a DRP and jeopardize the health and safety of communities. All these factors, along with the DOH, impact the safety and health of communities and disaster recovery responses. They must, therefore, be taken into consideration during disaster recovery responses.

Disaster Recovery Plan: MAP-IT Framework

Valley City and the vast North Dakota area are on high alert for tornadoes. In this regard, the discovery plan intends to lessen the health impact of tornadoes on its population. The MAP-IT framework provides a systematic way of identifying and addressing public health problems. The first step in the plan is the mobilization of all stakeholders collaborating to ensure effective disaster management and seamless recovery. In the Vila case scenario, important stakeholders who will be mobilized include the Valley City Regional Hospital to provide necessary healthcare, the Fire Department to address any fire incidents, and the North Dakota authorities to facilitate and coordinate restoration efforts with other federal agencies such as FEMA, and the Department of Energy to ensure prompt restoration of electricity lines. Assessing community needs is the second step in the plan. It enables the identification of community care needs and special groups in the area that may require special care. This includes the immigrant populations with poor access to care and the elderly groups in the area. It also informs on the planning and implementation processes.

Planning, Implementing, and Tracking

Disaster planning, implementation, and tracking are other components of the MAP-IT framework of disaster recovery responses. The goal of planning is to enhance preparedness for impending public health threats. The plan entails role assignment to the involved stakeholders, expanding the hospital’s capacity to handle emergencies, and continued mobilization of resources. Specific planning interventions to lessen the impact of floods and other environmental concerns that may arise from the impending tornadoes include mobilization of evacuation groups, readying the fire department, Department of Energy, Vila Healthcare, and Vila community members to address anticipated power outages, fire incidents, and first aid. During the implementation phase, aspects of the plan will be executed. The fire department will be on standby to address any fire incidents, the Department of Energy will be tasked with restoring power outages, and the Valley City Regional Hospital will collaborate with other agencies, such as the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross, to establish a triage system. This will help triage all tornado victims to ensure effective healthcare for all victims. The hospital will also establish a toll-free line and a communication framework through telehealth to ensure remote caring to patients unable to visit the hospital and an operational framework to recall nursing staff and other caregivers to bolster the hospital’s workforce. The tracking phase is an administrative phase that ensures that all operations abide by the plan.

How the Disaster Recovery Plan Will Lessen Health Disparities

Health disparity remains a traditional healthcare problem in many American societies. Brown et al. (2019) report that communities affected by the traditional problems of health disparities and poor access to care are disproportionately impacted by various disasters. This highlights the need for addressing health disparities in American societies. This plan seeks to address factors contributing to health disparities by utilizing culturally sensitive approaches in its recovery interventions. These factors include but are not limited to poor access to care, community features such as poverty, and poor quality of care. Cultural sensitive approaches are particularly beneficial to e