Disaster Recovery Plan for Smallville Regional Hospital: MAP-IT Framework

Disaster Recovery Plan for Smallville Regional Hospital: MAP-IT Framework

As a senior nurse at Smallville Regional Hospital, I have proposed the following disaster recovery plan to eliminate health disparities and increase access to healthcare facilities after the adverse fire disaster. This plan has incorporated MAP-IT strategy and is based on the principles of social justice and cultural sensitivity. 

Collaborative Partners

It is important to collaborate with healthcare providers, government agencies, and even non-profit organizations to ensure that disaster recovery plans work effectively (Quinn et al., 2020). The collaborative approach allows professionals to provide equal resources to the community, especially for people from low socioeconomic status, people with disabilities, and minorities (Baum et al., 2021). 

Community Needs

Smallville has a diverse population that is not equally distributed and that is why bringing a disaster recovery plan based on principles of social justice is important. As the town has a poverty rate of 23%, people must be experiencing financial instability, loss of jobs or property, and mental and physical health conditions post-disaster (Sullivan & Galea, 2019). This can fuel the already existing health disparities within the community.

Efforts to Reduce Health Disparities and Improve Access to Healthcare

A successful disaster plan needs to address immediate relief of the people as well as long-term recovery for everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status  (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021). This plan aims to provide equal resources to all without discrimination and build a resilient community

Plan Objectives

• Increase equal healthcare facilities, such as mental health, physical health, chronic stress management, and disease management. 
• Enable proficient communication channels that address language barriers and allow people with different backgrounds to get resources like English-speaking people (Healthy People 2020).
• Ensure ample accommodations for people who have lost their homes. For this purpose, collaborating with shelters and community centers is important (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).

Timeline of the Plan

1 Month	2-4 Months	5-7 Months
Collaborating with stakeholders, implementing needs assessment, and providing resources	Implementing a recovery plan, providing mental and physical health facilities, focusing on immediate relief	Supervision of plan and making necessary changes according to the specific needs of the people.

Cultural Sensitivity and Social Justice

Addressing the specific needs of minorities and providing culturally sensitive care is crucial to ensure social justice in the disaster recovery plan (Betancourt et al., 2020). The plan should implement a triage protocol to provide resources to people with urgent requirements. Moreover, efforts can be made to locate homeless people and those with disabilities to provide immediate help to them (Braveman et al., 2021). This disaster plan is rooted in social justice and providing equitable resources to affected people.