This resource provides an overview of how hospitals can prepare for a wide range of incidents that disrupt the flow of operations and reviews ways hospitals can be better prepared to sustain the impact of a storm, flood, or other natural disaster.
The Joint Commission requires all hospitals to have disaster plans in place, however the formulation of hospital guidelines specific to pediatrics is often overlooked.
When planning for natural disasters, hospitals should focus on several key considerations.
Enacted by Congress in 1986, the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) guarantees public access to emergency services without regard to the ability to pay. Under Section 1867 of the Social Security Act, hospitals participating in Medicare and providing emergency services are mandated to conduct a medical screening examination upon request for evaluation or treatment of an emergency medical condition, including active labor, irrespective of the individual’s financial status.
2022 Disaster Conference – Best Practice Showcase
El Camino Health shares its methodologies for increasing workforce safety by transforming staffing models and implementing shared governance within hospital units during disaster events. The project aimed to share knowledge and highlight the need for further research on staffing models impacting professional governance on nursing practice and patient outcomes where little data existed. The project demonstrated the opportunity to assess the impact of the COVID-19 rotation standard work on workforce safety, nurse satisfaction, and clinical outcomes.
When a disaster strikes, access to services becomes even more critical. And yet hospital staff and emergency services providers can be victims of that same disaster. ASPR TRACIE has released an updated version of its Tips for Retaining and Caring for Staff after a Disaster to guide facility executives in assisting staff through the recovery period.
Participants at the 2017 Disaster Planning Conference discussed potential characteristics of society in the year 2042 and the key resources, tools, and opportunities necessary to support the development of a robust, scalable, and regularly engaged disaster health volunteer workforce prepared for such a future.
Getting businesses — big or small — back into a community and keeping them viable after a disaster is a cornerstone of recovery. In this audio lecture, Karl Matzke, a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus and volunteer first responder, discusses best practices and available resources with Federal Emergency Management Authority Administrator Craig Fugate.
The audio covers available resources for corporations and small to medium-sized businesses to prepare for and protect themselves from the impact of disaster. For a community to maintain a healthy recovery, Fugate asserts that private and public groups must work collaboratively to help stabilize an environment after disaster.
Hospitals continue to fine-tune their local disaster readiness plans and further detail how they will work with regional teams when disaster strikes. Although hospitals’ board of trustees are not responsible for the development and implementation of disaster plans, it is the board’s fiduciary responsibility to ensure that a clear plan is in place and that the funding and resources necessary to carry out the plan are available.
To help members plan for and respond to the financial impacts impacts of disasters, the California Hospital Association has prepared this guide outlining considerations for hospitals as they develop a financial preparedness and response plan.