 Position Statement of the Bioterrorism Preparedness Committee of the
National Association of Geriatric Education Centers (NAGEC)
Inasmuch as neither the nation’s health work force nor older people
and their caregivers are adequately prepared to respond quickly and
effectively in the event of an attack by bioterrorists, the faculty in
all 41 GECs have recognized the major threat that the specter of such a
disaster poses to a particularly vulnerable segment of our country’s
population, the 35,000,000 and rapidly growing number of people over the
age of 65, especially those frail elders living alone. Many others live
in intergenerational households particularly among ethnic minority
communities whose access to urgent information may be delayed because of
language, cultural factors, and family caregivers who also work outside
their homes. Several GECs have already created and disseminated a number
of training curricula, all of which are designed to improve the health
care provided to the elderly population in response to an attack by
bioterrorists. A Bioterrorism Preparedness Committee of the GECs has met
and determined the need to develop more specific and standardized
training programs and to ensure that all of these programs are conducted
throughout the national GEC network. In addition, there is a need to
expand the programs beyond the GECs to their community partners to
ensure that culturally appropriate training on the special needs of the
elderly and their families is offered to agencies that provide services
to the elderly in both emergency situations and over the long-term. The
GECs’ Bioterrorism Preparedness Plan, as shown below, can be initiated
in 2003 if funding is available.
| Type of Response |
Purpose of
Response |
Projected Outcomes
of Response |
| Curriculum Development |
Training programs will be developed to
introduce bioterrorism preparedness information into health
professions curricula and into continuing medical education programs
for current community practitioners and for Health Sciences Center
faculty and Emergency Department personnel. Curriculum content
should consist of (1) clinical service/outreach, including bilingual
and multiculturally sensitive approaches; (2) education; and (3)
policy. Focus groups of older people will be used to assist in the
development of curricular materials for caregivers. |
Health care personnel will know where
elders live, what their medical and psycho/social needs are, and how
those needs will be met. Specifically, we will address prevention of
and treatment for exposure to the six Class A agents the CDC has
determined are the most likely to be used: anthrax, smallpox,
plague, botulinum toxin, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. We
will also address the geroethical considerations needed in the event
quarantine is warranted. A needs assessment will be developed to
ensure that all concerns of the diverse groups of elderly and their
families were properly addressed.
|
| Curriculum Dissemination |
These curricula will be disseminated
through all of the GECs, both funded and non-funded, and their
community partners. Training will be made available through
websites, video conferencing, printed materials, conferences and
workshops. Other avenues of dissemination include the CDC and the
Center for Civilian Biodefense at Johns Hopkins University.
Attention will be paid to having timely, accurate information to
minimize fear and panic among the various publics. |
GECs will identify local partners --
including the local Area Agencies on Aging, VA decontamination
experts, city and state liaisons to civil defense, and faith-based
comprehensive response networks -- to aid in the implementation of
training. All health care providers of the elderly and their
families will be apprised of where training can be taken, locally
and online. Evaluation of the efficacy of these programs will
provide a mechanism of continuous quality improvement of the
training curricula and methods of dissemination. |
| Policy Development |
Public policy makers at local,
regional, and federal levels will be made aware of the special needs
of the diverse population of elderly and their families by the GEC
faculty. |
Knowledge about the special needs of
the vulnerable and diverse elderly population should lead to the
support of and participation in programs that address those special
needs. |
The GECs are dedicated to the well being of this nation’s elderly.
The challenge of developing, disseminating and evaluating new programs
designed to protect this highly diverse population against threats of
bioterrorism is a challenge the GECs soberly accept. Just as the Bush
Administration education policy is guided by the theme of “leave no
child behind,” NAGEC’s bioterrorism initiative will be guided by a
similar theme: “leave no vulnerable elder unattended.” GECs constitute
an experienced national resource to quickly effect this response to a
pressing need faced by our country at this critical juncture.
|
