Patent Application
20140059765
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an evacuation system and blanket to be used in evacuations of hospitals, nursing homes, other care facilities, rescue efforts, and for transport or evacuation of patients in other emergency situations.
2. Description of Related Art
In evacuations and other emergencies, time is of the essence. However, in times of emergency and dire circumstances, chaos and confusion can drastically affect the outcome. For example, a hospital, nursing home, public health shelter, or other care facility may need to be evacuated due to a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, fire, terrorist attack, or other similar emergency. Similarly, an individual could need immediate transport to obtain emergency care from an accident site or site of trauma or other rescue location. During an evacuation process, multiple tasks must be accomplished by hospital personnel, emergency-care personnel, and patient caregivers. One of these tasks is the gathering and organizing patient care items, medical information, medication, personal items and the appropriate documentation that must accompany the patient to ensure proper treatment during and after the evacuation and transport to provide the most seamless transition of care possible. One particular concern is keeping these items with the patient during the evacuation and transport.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and system that provides a quick and simple way to gather and organize patient information, records, medications, personal items, or any other material or information needed to evacuate and relocate a patient while providing the information required, thereby ensuring the patient adequate continuity of care.
Further, in retrospective study of past events impacting hospital and healthcare systems, nursing homes, and public health shelters, the accountability and protection of patients seems to have a wide variety of solution methods which are not consistent in the industry.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus or system that may easily be commonly used within a geographical area so as to provide consistency, reliability and familiarity to reduce and perhaps eliminate errors due to interruptions in patient care due to evacuation or transport of the patients.
The present invention is directed toward an evacuation blanket that can be used on its own or as part of a system for evacuating or transporting a patient. The evacuation blanket comprises a first side, a second side, a first outer edge, a second outer edge, a first end, a second end, and a plurality of pockets disposed on one of the sides wherein the open end of the pocket is proximate a center of the second side and the closed end is proximate one of the outer edges. One of the sides of the blanket may be a metallic fabric to help retain heat and may be used when hypothermia is an issue. The evacuation blanket may also include a strap or string to secure the blanket to the patient or to a stretcher or gurney. The strap or string may include a fastener disposed thereon to help secure the blanket around the patient or to the gurney.
The evacuation blanket may include a centerline passing through first end and second end, wherein the open end of each pocket is proximate the centerline and the pocket extends away from and substantially perpendicular to the centerline toward the first outer edge. The pocket may include a closed end proximate the first side. The pockets may be clear, or may be solid with a clear window. The pockets may also have a label identifying the contents that are to be deposit therein and may include a closure flap covering the open end.
The evacuation blanket may be used as part of a system for evacuating or transporting a medical patient that also includes one or more item being stored in at least one of the plurality of pockets, wherein the item of information may patient identification information, treatment instructions, medical supplies, and/or personal items. The system may include the blanket having a pre-determined checklist disposed in one of the plurality of pockets which gives evacuating personnel instructions of how to install the blanket and what items are to be transported with the patient. The system for evacuating or transporting a medical patient may also include a unique barcode patient identifier for each patient and a barcode reader.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
The accompanying drawings form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, in which like reference numerals are employed to indicate like or similar parts in the various views.
The following detailed description of the present invention references the accompanying drawing figures that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the present invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims and, therefore, the description is not to be taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
As shown in
One embodiment of blanket 10 may be a blanket made of reflective plastic on first side 12, and a darker plastic on the second side 14. However, any color or pattern of material may be used. For example, a blaze orange or other florescent color may be used when it is desirable to promote visibility. Alternatively, a camouflaging color and pattern may be used to decrease visibility. However, the color of blanket 10 may be any color or pattern. Blanket 10 may be constructed of spun-bond polypropylene, other plastics, nylon, cotton, canvas, neoprene, Mylar, any polymeric material, or any other material now known or hereafter developed having qualities desired. Further, one or both sides 12 and 14 of blanket 10 may be constructed from a metallic fabric or other reflective material now known or hereafter developed having desired properties. The metallic fabric is desirable in some applications as it may be used to reflect body heat and may be effective against hypothermia.
The reason for evacuating a hospital or care facility is often damage or impending damage to the hospital infrastructure due to fire, severe weather, or other man-made or natural disaster. Therefore, the patients may end up being exposed to the threatening environments of these conditions. The protection of the patient from the elements and environment of these conditions is a significant concern when planning for coping with these types of emergencies. Accordingly, embodiments of blanket 10 may be made from water-proof, fire-resistant, and/or breathable materials, or any combination thereof that prevent the patient from getting wet, burned by air-borne cinders, or overheated. Moreover, the material comprising blanket 10 may have a high abrasion resistance and durability.
In one exemplary embodiment, blanket 10 may have a size of about fifty-six inches wide by about eighty-two inches long (56″×82″). However, a person of skill in the art will recognize that the exact width and length are not critical to the functionality and, therefore, blanket 10 may be any other width and length now known or hereafter developed to perform the functions identified herein. The length of blanket 10 is generally sufficient to cover substantially the entire length of a normal human being patient's body. The width of blanket 10 is generally sufficient to wrap substantially around normal-sized persons.
As shown in
The pockets 26 may have labels 30 written or attached thereon to indicate to evacuating personnel what items 102 should be placed in which pocket 26. This assists personnel in organizing the patient information and items at the time of evacuation or transport, and also allows for quick identification of patients and easily locating necessary medical information or supplies. One embodiment may include a flap 32 that covers pocket opening 28 of pocket 26 as shown in both
Blanket 10 may also include one or more draw strings or straps 36 proximate the four corners 34a-d of blanket 10 as shown in
The present evacuation system and blanket 10 is easy to use. Blanket 10 of the present invention may be used for evacuations or transports of a patient from hospitals, nursing homes, or other care center or by emergency care providers such as paramedics, the coast guard, or firemen. Moreover, blanket 10 may be used in military or combat situations during the evacuation of injured soldiers. In the case of an evacuation of a medical facility, the administrators and/or the managers of a hospital or other patient care facility may create a check-list of items that need to be gathered for a patient during an evacuation. This check-list can be created in a planning phase and provided to staff during training or included in an employee or operations manual. A copy of the list may also be kept in one of the pockets 26 during storage of blanket 10. This list will make gathering, storing, and filling pockets 26 of blanket 10 easier and performed more consistently. During the chaos and confusion that are inherent in the evacuation of a healthcare facility, blanket 10 can be applied to a patient 100 by non-trained individuals, volunteer staff, department technicians, orderlies etc. A pre-made check-list of required items included with a patient 100 during an evacuation provides an excellent means for verifying that the required items to go with the patient are indeed with the patient. The clear plastic pockets 26 make it easy to see items 10, including notes that may be intended for the receiving facility so there will be minimal lapse of patient care continuity.
As shown in
The task of filling the pockets with items 102, including personal items, medical supplies, prescription medication, other desired or required information, is completed by authorized personnel. It may be desirable to make the patient medications the last items to be placed in the pockets. This allows support staff to get the patient ready and allows the higher level personnel the task of verifying the patient identification and ensuring the patient has all medically necessary items 102. For example, a final check for patient identification and completion of departure checklist can be verified by having the patient's nurse and a pharmacy representative at the medication drawer, with the MAR (medication administration record), to pull the needed medication as prescribed, check against the patients arm band identification and place the meds in the pocket. After this final verification, the patient is then ready to be evacuated or moved.
Use of the present evacuation system and blanket 10 commonly within a geographical area among all healthcare organizations can provide a more consistent and predictable method for management of the items that are easily forgotten while packing up the patient and/or misplaced during transport. Regulatory agencies such as The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) look for mitigation strategies in the Emergency Action Plans of institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, public health shelters and other agencies tasked with managing mass care and mass sheltering. Blanket 10 and the associated evacuation system is an excellent piece of equipment to stock in each patient care department, and are ready to use in the case of emergency. Blanket 10 satisfies and is applicable to each of the four fundamental emergency planning areas: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. It is an organizational tool that can facilitate the continuity of care and ultimate system recovery adding an important strategy for any Continuity of Care Plan (CoOP).
In addition to use in emergency and evacuation situations, one embodiment of the present blanket 10 may be used by outdoorsmen to store and carry equipment, maps, supplies, or other items. Blanket 10 may be particularly useful in the backseat of a car or truck, draped over a horse or ATV, hung as an organizer for camping, or storage in an RV. There are many other uses for the blanket of the present invention.
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/696,629, filed Sep. 4, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61696629 | Sep 2012 | US |
