6 Things A Hospital Should Do To Prepare For Weather Emergencies

By Author: emrindustry
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Every hospital is required to develop an EOP, which is a plan designed to be as comprehensive as possible regarding disasters and disaster preparedness. Comprehensive plans enable you to create a basic plan with topics such as safety, utilities, resource management and distribution, security and communications that can work across multiple types of emergencies, while also having sections tailored to specific emergencies. For example, each department should have a phone tree and a system of check-ins that will remain the same no matter the emergency, while also having an evacuation plan in case of a wildfire and a shelter-in-place plan in case of severe storms.

3. Train All Employees in Disaster Preparedness

While healthcare providers will already be trained in providing medical care and triaging patients in case of an emergency, this is only part of disaster preparedness. You need to make sure all your hospital employees are trained in the basics of handling disasters, as well as keeping patients and visitors calm and compliant. Make sure every employee knows about your EOP and can easily access it before, during ...
... and after an emergency. Provide online or in-person training for employees to gain some experience in disaster preparedness and give them opportunities to ask questions and practice certain aspects of your EOP, such as evacuation drills and practice check-ins.

4. Follow Government Guidelines

Check federal, state and local government guidelines regarding each type of disaster included in your EOP. You need to make sure your EOP complies with government regulations and guidelines for hospitals and other healthcare resources before publishing any information or training employees. These guidelines ensure everyone has a set of information to base emergency preparedness plans around and ensure consistency across the state or country.

5. Ensure Relevant Information Is Available

A hospital needs to ensure emergency preparedness information is available not only to employees but also to patients and visitors. You don’t need to lecture visitors on a normal day, but make sure there is signage available in case of emergency and that courtesy staff and desk staff are well-versed in the EOP and what to do with regard to patients and visitors in the event of an emergency.

6. Make Sure All Facilities Are Up To Code

In areas where wildfires, earthquakes and tornadoes are common, this is especially important, but all hospital facilities should be kept up to code to ensure the safety of everyone using and working in them. Make sure your hospital’s facilities are inspected regularly and fix any code violations as soon as possible. Facilities being up to code can be the difference between the stability and safety of a building during a weather emergency and endangering everyone in and around it.

Severe weather can and has destroyed all kinds of buildings, including hospitals. A good hospital should have several plans, encompassing everything from shelter-in-place orders to evacuation.