All Entries in the "Emergency management" Category
A shift in the thinking behind closing hospitals during a disaster
Within The Joint Commission’s revised emergency management standards, an important consideration (and this is clearly derived from the
This may involve relocation of your operations, the migration of your patients to another facility, or even a mix of the two. Every circumstance has a tipping point and the new defining preparedness characteristic for hospitals is a level of self-awareness that can recognize and act upon that point.
In the past, I think that there was a tacit understanding on the part of everyone involved (hospitals, regulators, communities, etc.) that hospitals would not close, or more to the point, could not close. We need look no further than the legal imbroglios regarding the disposition of patients in the aftermath of Katrina to see that, as an industry, a critical part of our continuity plans is to know when continuation is not possible and, I daresay, could be considered dangerous.
With luck, we will never have to face such circumstances again, but I don’t think the odds are in our favor.
How the revised emergency management standards tie into federal rules
If anything, the Joint Commission’s updated emergency management standards represent a much clearer picture of what might be considered best practices for the structure of your emergency operations plan (which used to be called your disaster or emergency response plan in the standards). The revisions take effect January 1.
Clearly, in this (still) post-9/11 world, the hierarchy of regulatory oversight continues to have the requirements of the federal government at its apex. If your organization has any hopes of funding additional improvements to your preparedness activities, adoption of a response structure that is compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) must be your primary goal. Fortunately, the following six critical areas identified in the new EC.4.13 through EC.4.18 are readily “folded” into NIMS-compliant structures:
- Communications
- Resources and assets
- Safety and security
- Staff responsibilities
- Utilities management
- Patient clinical and support activities
That said, there’s really very little in the way of surprises in the new standards. When the Joint Commission updated the elements of performance under EC.4.20 (the standard requiring disaster drills) last year, several of the above-bulleted critical areas were identified succinctly (communications, resource mobilization, and patient care activities). The remaining newbies primarily resulted from post-Katrina reviews of hospital response in
The expectation of The Joint Commission is that if your organization is able to get and keep its act together relative to those six areas, then you should be able to manage events of every stripe and magnitude.
Beyond cell phones
I still hear a lot of discussion about whether to limit cell phone use within hospitals, but sometimes I think that cell phones are the least of our worries.
I still find that organizations haven’t really come to grips with the other communications technologies that are much more likely to result in electromagnetic interference–primarily two-way radios used by security officers, maintenance crews, etc.
Also, emergency response plans for communications system disruptions usually include provisions for a mix of cell phones and two-way radios as backups.
Now I’m not saying that’s a bad thing in and of itself, but you have to provide guidelines when staff members use these communication devices. Make sure all related policies and procedures are consistent in their application of any prohibitions, too.
