A young man comes into the foyer of the hospital and says that he has a container of anthrax, which he opens and pours on the floor. Which is the priority action for the nurse who first comes upon the scene?

Question

a. Don a protective gown, mask, and gog-gles.
b. Escort the man to the decontamination room.
c. Begin to evacuate the immediate area.
d. Notify the local health department of a biohazard situation.

Answer 1

C
The highest priority is to remove people from immediate danger, so the nurse should evacuate the immediate area and prevent injury to those near the spill. Donning personal protective equipment would probably take the nurse away from the scene to obtain the equipment and would not help protect those in immediate danger. The man may need to be escorted to a decontamination area after people are removed from the scene. Reporting the incident to the health department should be done after the scene is secured and could be delegated to someone else.