Care for Your Staff

During a smallpox emergency, patients will not be the only ones who require extra care. Healthcare and public health responders will have their own needs, as well. Your staff will be strained from caring for their patients, and they will likely have their own fears and concerns about the safety of their family members and loved ones. Each patient with smallpox may be hospitalized and require care for 3 to 4 weeks. Depending upon the scale of the emergency, this might require an especially long, protracted response by your facility’s staff.

One way you can help your staff is by including in your emergency plans ways to prevent, recognize, and treat staff burnout and secondary traumatic stress. CDC has resources to help emergency responders cope.