Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

Chapter 7 Making the Community Plan 133
if the responders do not function well (Marcus, 2000). Consideration must
be given to the extent of the disaster and the length of the recovery processes.
Additionally, systems must be developed to protect the mental
health of the many individuals involved in the response. Mental health
caregivers, traditional first responders, local government, and other community
organizations will require caregiver services to prevent fatigue and
burnout.
Develop Links and Bridges Between Civic, Business,
Academic, Health, and Community Organizations
to Build Social Capital
One of the lessons learned after September 11, 2001, was that public
health providers must extend beyond health institutions to schools, religious
organizations, community groups, the military, and public service organizations
to reach the vast majority of the population (Susser, Herman, &
Aaron, 2002). Connecting traditional first responders to other service
providers in a given community would engage its members and organizations
to create a tailored and appropriate plan for public health preparedness
and response. It would also empower communities to develop plans
based on their assets, competences, and capacities (International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2004); improve risk communication,
surveillance, and emergency response within communities;
build social cohesion; and bolster morale.
Multiagency networking and familiarity must become central features
of community preparedness as the collective response to disaster requires
coordination by diverse groups at many levels. Fostering a trusting
relationship between civic, health, business, academic, and community organizations
would improve social capital by creating linkages and extending
the reach and capacity of a community’s support network. The
expectation of exchange and reciprocity between diverse organizations
within a community would improve synergy and integrity at the macro
level ( Woolcock, 1998) and greatly improve the effectiveness of preparedness
planning and implementation. By reaching consensus, developing
plans of action, practicing skills needed in disaster response, and establishing
communication plans, communities will begin to develop the adaptive
capacities indicative of community resilience (Norris, et al., 2008). While
the process of community preparedness may serve as a catalyst for creating
bonds between organizations, these linkages can be harnessed for
collective action on other fronts.