ASSIGNMENT: Facility Environment Assessment &

Disaster Preparedness Plan

Purpose of Learning Activity: Complete an environmental safety assessment, including

an assessment of the facility’s disaster preparedness plan.
PSLO #2: Apply leadership skills to enhance quality nursing care and improve health
outcomes; #3: Utilize best available evidence and informatics to guide decision making; #7:
Practice holistic, evidence-based nursing care including diverse and underserved
individuals, families, and communities.
Course Outcomes: #2: Demonstrate an awareness of the role of the professional nurse
within organizational systems; #3: Apply credible, evidence-based sources of information
to guide safe, preventative care.

Objectives:
1. Recognize processes the nurse participates in to create a culture of safety and caring
(competency 2D).
2. Identify relevant and credible sources, including technology, to inform the delivery
of care (competency 3J).
3. Define evidence based nursing interventions (competency 7F).

4. Define key concepts of disaster preparedness (competency 7L).

Directions:
1. The assignment includes completing the Facility Environment Assessment
Table & Disaster Preparedness Table for your Transitional Care Unit.

2. This table consists of three parts:

a. General Unit - includes the environment of the nursing unit (dining area,
activities room, hallways, etc.)
b. Building/Grounds - includes such things as sidewalk condition, security
system, handicap accessibility, etc.
c. Disaster preparedness assessment

3. For the General Unit & Buildings/Grounds portion of the assessment:

a. Identify and describe in detail three highly relevant findings that promote
safety and three findings that threaten safety.
b. Provide evidence from a current reference sources in APA format for at least
one intervention within each category of the Safety findings table.

4. For the Disaster Preparedness portion of the assessment:

a. Review the following brochure on disaster preparedness:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/oep/contact/decade.pdf
b. Review the Disaster Preparedness Manual for the facility.
 c. Identify and describe three potential disasters and subsequent disaster plans
the facility has in place, in addition to the facility’s training and the registered
nurse’s role in a disaster.
d. Describe how the nursing process interrelates with the disaster preparedness
plan.
e. Define ethical/legal issues that may occur during a disaster.
f. Provide references from current reference sources in APA format.

5. Completing your assignment:

a. This assignment must be word processed.
b. Copy the table template below and paste to a new Word document. Click on
the + sign at the upper left of the table; right click to highlight the table. Then
go to File/New followed by Layout/Orientation/Landscape and then right
click/Paste the table.
c. To add rows to your table, place your cursor in a current row and then right
click/Insert Row/Insert Rows Above or Below.
d. Submit the completed assignment into the D2L Brightspace Assignments prior
to the due date as found in the Course Calendar.

Example:
Transitional Care Unit: General Unit
Identification & Description of Safety
Interventions
Promoting Finding
1. Fire extinguishers are present every 50  Inspect monthly that there is a fire
feet throughout the building and each extinguisher at a distance no more than
has directions for use attached. 75 feet.
According to the Occupational Safety  Inspect all fire extinguishers monthly to
and Health Administration (OSHA) ensure that they are not expired.
Regulation Code 1910.157 (n.d.), the  Inspect monthly that the directions for
travel distance to a portable fire use are attached to the extinguisher.
extinguisher is to be 75 feet or less.
References:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (n.d.). Occupational safety and

health standards. Retrieved April 6, 2017 from

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?

p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9811

Note: Students are NOT to add ‘fire extinguishers’ to their document

 Facility Environment Assessment & Disaster Preparedness Rubric
15 Points Exemplary
6 Points
Safety At least three highly
Findings & relevant findings that
Interventions promote and threaten safety
are identified.
Descriptions are detailed
and in complete
sentences. Interventions
are highly appropriate and
realistic and relate to the
safety elements identified.
6 Points
Disaster Identification and
Preparedness thorough, articulate
descriptions of potential
disasters, facility training,
and the registered nurse’s
role in the disaster.
Thoroughly describes how
the nursing process is
implemented in disasters
and ethical/legal issues that
can arise from disasters.
Proficient
5 Points
Findings that promote
and threaten safety are
identified. Thorough
descriptions are
addressed for all findings
and are in complete
sentences. Interventions
are appropriate and
realistic and relate to the
safety elements
identified.
5 Points
Identification and overall
thorough descriptions of
potential disasters,
facility training, and the
registered nurse’s role in
the disaster.
Thoughtful description of
how the nursing process
is implemented in
disasters and
ethical/legal issues that
can arise from disasters.
Developing
4 Points
Findings that promote and
threaten safety are
identified but may not
always be relevant.
Descriptions are addressed
for most findings and may
not all be in complete
sentences. Some
interventions are not
appropriate or realistic and
relate to the safety elements
identified.
4 Points
Identification and
satisfactory description of
potential disasters, facility
training, and the registered
nurse’s role in the disaster.
Attempt at description of
how the nursing process is
implemented in disasters
and ethical/legal issues that
can arise from disasters.
Unacceptable
0 Points
Less than the required number
of findings that promote and
threaten safety are identified
and/or are not relevant.
Descriptions are lacking or
poor in one or more areas, nor
are they in complete
sentences. Interventions are
either inappropriate,
unrealistic and/or unrelated to
the safety elements identified.
0 Points
Lacks or poor identification
and/or description of potential
disasters, facility training, and
the registered nurse’s role in
the disaster.
Poor attempt at description of
how the nursing process is
implemented in disasters and
ethical/legal issues that can
arise from disasters.
 Facility Environment Assessment & Disaster Preparedness Rubric
15 Points Exemplary
1 Point
Mechanics of Entire document is well
Writing organized. Rare (0-2) errors
in spelling, grammar, or
punctuation.
2 Points
References Reference list is current and
complete and contains at
least two reference sources
for each portion of the table.
References are cited within
the body of the paper, as
well as the Reference List.
Rare (0-2) errors in APA
format.
Proficient
0.75 Points
Entire document is
generally organized. Few
(3-5) errors in spelling,
grammar, or punctuation.
1.5 Points
Reference list is current
and complete and
contains at least one
reference source for each
portion of the table. Most
often, references are cited
within the body of the
paper, as well as the
Reference List. Few (3-5)
errors in APA format.
Developing
0.5 Points
Document could be more
organized. Occasional (6-
10) errors in spelling,
grammar, or punctuation
but the document is still
readable.
1 Point
Reference list lacks currency
or is not complete, contains
two or fewer sources.
Occasionally references are
cited within the body of the
paper, as well as the
Reference List. Occasional
(6-10) errors in APA format.
Unacceptable
0 Points
Document lacks organization
and has many errors (>10) in
spelling, grammar, or
punctuation.
0 Points
No citations or reference list
included in document and/or
many (> 10) errors in APA
format.

Facility Environment Assessment Table

Name: Advisor:
Transitional Care Unit: General Unit
Identification & Description of Safety Promoting Finding Interventions
1. 

2. 
3. 

Identification & Description of Safety Threatening Finding Interventions

1. 

2. 

3. 

Transitional Care Unit: Buildings and Grounds

Identification & Description of Safety Promoting Finding Interventions
1. 

2. 

3. 

Identification & Description of Safety Threatening Finding Interventions

1. 

2. 

3. 

References:

Facility Disaster Preparedness Plan

Identification & Description of Training the site does to Role of the Registered Nurse
Potential Disaster prepare for the disaster during the disaster
1.  

2.  

3.  

Identify how the steps in the nursing process relate to Disaster Preparedness and Response Phase:

Describe ethical/legal issues that affect nursing practice during a disaster:

References: