Safety Information for Healthcare Professionals

If you’re a health care professional helping at an emergency site, here’s information that will help you care for survivors.

Medical Care After a Hurricane

• Immunizations After a Disaster
  Find recommendations for vaccinations, tetanus prevention, and the impact of power outages on vaccine storage.
• Medical Management and Patient Advisement
  Get information for assisting patients, including pregnant women, and guidelines for treating health risks like diarrhea, injuries, and infectious diseases.
• Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs)
  Find information from a national network of clinics that offers health professionals free clinical advice about environmental risks for children.
• Dialysis Care
  Read about treating people on dialysis when the water supply may be unsafe.

Health Risks After a Hurricane

• Clinical Guidance for Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning After a Disaster
  Get information about at risk populations, sources of CO poisoning, and how to recognize and treat it.
• Mold After a Disaster
  Find resources about preventing and removing mold and treating mold allergies.
• Health Recommendations for Workers Who Handle Human Remains
  Get advice on protecting yourself from disease during contact with human remains.
• Management of Dead Bodies in Disaster Situationsexternal icon
  Consult a manual from the Pan American Health Organization for specialists and authorities managing disaster sites.

Helping Survivors Cope with Trauma

• Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event
  See resources for the public, teachers, responders, and health professionals.
• Tips for Managing Stress: A Guide for Emergency Response and Public Safety Workersexternal icon
  Get tips for stress management and prevention advice from SAMHSA.
• Tips for Survivors of a Traumatic Eventpdf iconexternal icon [PDF – 1.8 MB]
  Learn what people should expect to feel after a disaster.
• Coping with Traumatic Eventsexternal icon
  Check out information from SAMHSA about how people react to trauma and when to get help.

Other Resources

• Surveillance
  Get surveillance forms, community and shelter assessment tools, and other public health assessment (PHA) forms.
• Questions About Clinical Investigations Affected by Disastersexternal icon
  Get information from the FDA about what to do if a disaster affects your research.
• Reopening Health Care Facilities
  Learn about safety precautions before reopening health care facilities.

You may want to give information to survivors after a hurricane about the risks they might face at home. Visit Educational Materials by Topic for free resources.

Content provided and maintained by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Please see our system usage guidelines and disclaimer.