Epidemiology Vulnerabilities in Lexington County, Research Paper

This includes the prison population, the patients in the hospital and any county-assisted long-term care facilities, and all of those who utilized the relief shelters set up throughout the county. Those residents who attempted to shelter in place rather than evacuating to one of the relief shelters as recommended will also need to be served, of course, but as the scattered nature of these residents will require a much greater expenditure of time and available resources in order to treat and asses far fewer people, the bulk of resources must first and foremost be applied to those population centers already established prior to, during, or immediately in the wake of the emergency event. The response for these populations will be relatively straightforward, and the focus on these community populations specifically is directly needs-based.

Not only will these populations require fewer per-person resources and time expenditures in order to be assessed for health needs, provided with necessary care, and ensured an adequate access to health care, sanitary conditions, and hygiene needs, but these population groups will also be at a higher risk for the spread of infection due to crowding. This is among the several reasons that these populations will be approached and assessed first; those individuals and families attempting to shelter in place are far less likely to receive infections and communicable diseases from others, even with reduced access to infrastructure and sanitary conditions.

Addressing the health needs of the individuals who remained isolated in rural areas of the county will also likely be delayed by the fallout from the emergency event itself. That is, flooding and resultant road damage will make access and even locating such individuals very difficult, in many instances; plans must be developed to search for these individuals without draining necessary medical resources away from the above-identified target populations. This can actually serve all populations in a more efficient manner, with basic provisions going out with search teams and possibly EMTs and nursing staff in order to effectively treat and assess health needs of these individuals, while transporting those in need of more immediate and extensive medical care or those showing signs of seriously communicable infections can be moved to appropriate locations where they can receive the care they need and be kept from contaminating supplies and infecting other individuals. This will prove the most efficient and effective manner of treating all of the individuals in Lexington County with the appropriate and necessary levels of care and precaution following an emergency event.

The development of an assessment instrument must take into account the prior conditions and health issues of the individuals being assessed. Living standards, hygiene practices, and other environmental factors of each individual's health history will need to be correlated with observed issues following the emergency event. Commonalities in prior medical histories can also suggest potential community-wide problems facing health workers following an emergency.