Evacuation of a critical care unit.

Emergency preparedness is crucial to the frontline nurse who provides patient care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, especially in the wake of the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Centre (9/11). It is the professional responsibility of both the organization and the nursing staff to ensure that knowledge about disaster procedures is adequate. Disasters do not necessarily occur when the majority of administrative and support staff are on duty. It is imperative that nurses are informed of disaster procedures and can provide leadership during a crisis. In this article, the author discusses a Code Red (fire) with Code Green potential and actual Code Green (evacuation) two days later, of a 20-bed critical care unit.