2024 Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience Journal Article by PRMS: Fires, Floods, Hurricanes, Oh My! The Importance of Disaster Planning
Our PRMS Risk Managers frequently share their expertise by contributing articles to clinical journals, including the Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience (ICNS) digital journal, throughout the year. Read an excerpt by PRMS Risk Manager Akemini “Kem” Isang, RN, JD, from ICNS’ article, “Risk Management: Fires, Floods, Hurricanes, Oh My! The Importance of Disaster Planning.”
The Critical Need for Disaster Planning in Healthcare
Introduction: In recent years, the United States has witnessed a series of catastrophic natural disasters, from deadly hurricanes and tornadoes to devastating floods and forest fires. In each instance, the impact on healthcare in the affected region has been immeasurable. Catastrophic natural disasters have displaced both clinicians and patients and destroyed medical facilities and countless medical records. These disasters illustrate the importance of emergency preparation and the need for contingency planning.
Why? The overall goals of an emergency plan are to:
- Minimize the probability of injury or loss related to your patients, visitors, and/or employees in an emergency;
- Minimize, or prevent altogether, the risk of property loss (including equipment, patient records, and business records); and
- Minimize down time and expedite your recovery from the disaster.
Key Goals of an Effective Emergency Plan
How? The following suggestions may assist you with planning, constructing, and implementing an emergency plan.
- Identify and analyze
- Compile a list of the specific types of emergencies that might occur. Examples include medical emergencies, psychiatric emergencies, fire, weather-related emergencies, and power outage.
- Identify how and where your office is most vulnerable. This will allow you to determine where you need to focus your attention.
- Visit your city/state emergency management office’s website. Oftentimes, these offices will have resources advising you about risks that are unique to your area.
- Take inventory
- Before you allocate any of your own resources to developing an emergency plan, you need to determine what safety features and plans are already at your practice location. For example, if your building has an evacuation plan for the building, your plan should incorporate those procedures that are already there.
- Allocate your resources
- This can mean something as simple as collecting emergency supplies (e.g., batteries, bottled water, flashlights, and nonperishable food) and developing an office evacuation plan, or it can mean a more complex response, as in the case of your medical records.
- Implement your plan
- The first step in implementing any plan will be the act of communicating it to your office staff. Here are some guidelines to help you in this process.
- Keep it simple: Put it in writing in an easy to read and understand format.
- Keep it accessible: All staff should know the location of the written emergency plan.
- Keep in practice: Provide training and periodic walk-throughs of the plan to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities during an emergency.
- Keep it updated: Your plan will need to change and evolve to reflect the changes in your practice.
Subscribe to the ICNS publication for free here to read the rest of Kem’s article with “what if” scenarios to consider.
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Authored by PRMS.