CalHospitalPrepare

California hospitals are a critical element within the disaster medical response system. Together with local government, other health care providers, and other agencies, hospitals plan, prepare for and respond to victims' needs.

Is your hospital prepared?

Here’s some overview text and callouts of new/important info. Could also include plug for conference when marketing for that kicks into high gear.

Emergency Management

Getting Started

(“Getting Started” would link to overview page with condensed resources from other sub-topics; most important sub-topics also called out below)

ASPR TRACIE

Let ASPR TRACIE be your gateway to healthcare emergency preparedness information!

Emergency Operations Plan

Hospitals are required to have an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) which describes how a facility will respond to and recover from all hazards.

Standards/Regulations/Statutes

Learn more about emergency standards, regulations, and statutes here.

Learnings from Past Events

No posts found.

Planning Topics

The profound impact of disasters is felt even more deeply by those with specific access and functional needs, such as people with disabilities or chronic illness, children and elderly populations, pregnant women, people experiencing homelessness, and others. The following resources can help to identify special access needs before, during, and after disasters, ultimately helping to mitigate the disaster’s impact on these individuals.

Resources:

  • Hospital Guidebook for Access and Functional Needs in a Disaster (download)
  • California Office of Emergency Services: Office of Access and Functional Needs (visit site)

An active shooter is defined as an individual who is actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in the hospital or on the hospital campus. In most cases active shooters use a firearm(s) and display no pattern or method for selection of their victims. In some cases active shooters use other weapons and/or improvised explosive devices to cause additional victims and act as an impediment to police and emergency responders.

Resources:

Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) events refer to the uncontrolled release of chemicals, biological agents or radioactive contamination into the environment or explosions that cause widespread damage. CBRNE events can be caused by accidents or by terrorist acts.

Resources:

Climate change is a change in global or regional weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (from decades to centuries). Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions or in more extreme weather events.

Resources:

  • California Climate Change Assessment (download)
  • U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (download)

Business continuity planning is critical for hospitals and health care systems as they are a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year business. Any event or disaster that interrupts normal work processes must be planned for and have a continuity plan that explains how a business recovers operations.

Resources:

  • Preparing for the Financial Impacts of a Disaster (download)
  • Community Health Resilience Initiative (download)

During community catastrophies, regular and cell phone service may be disrupted. Without availability of these services, alternate forms of communication must be relied upon. 

It is critical to develop communication strategies which include redundant forms of communication in advance of these events.

Redundant communications can include:

  • Basic telephone systems 
  • In-building wireless phone systems 
  • Overhead announcement and paging systems 
  • Nurse call system 
  • Voice over Internet Protocol systems 
  • Cell phones 
  • Beepers and pocket pagers 
  • Enterprise systems 
  • BlackBerries and similar devices 
  • Text messaging 
  • Text-to-voice translation 
  • Communication systems for the deaf and hearing impaired 
  • Telephonic translation lines and services 
  • Access control systems 
  • Fax machines 
  • Hospital television network systems 
  • E-mail 
  • Mass notification systems 
  • Hospital electronic bulletin boards 
  • Intranet message posting 
  • Bed-tracking and facility status reporting systems 
  • Electronic health record systems 
  • Enterprise systems for networked hospitals 
  • Resource and grant-asset tracking systems 
  • Evacuee and disaster patient tracking systems 
  • Emergency medical services communication systems 
  • Emergency desktop and mobile handheld programmed radios 
  • Communication with emergency operations centers 
  • Public health monitoring and notification systems (syndromic surveillance systems, threat notification systems, outbreak management systems) 
  • Satellite radio and communication systems
  • Ham radio systems 
  • Human runners (the low-tech communication system if all else fails)

Resources:

  • Crisis and Emergency Risk Communications Toolkit (download)
  • Social Media Roles in Emergency Management (download)

Training & Exercises

Option 1

Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)

HICS is a methodology for using incident command system (ICS) in a hospital/healthcare environment.

HICS assists hospitals to improve their emergency management planning, response, and recovery capabilities for planned and unplanned events.

Option 2

Other Resources

Overview, inc. “Planning an Exercise” & Training Resources content

Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)

HICS is a methodology for using incident command system (ICS) in a hospital/healthcare environment.

HICS assists hospitals to improve their emergency management planning, response, and recovery capabilities for planned and unplanned events.

Statewide Medical/Health Exercise

The Statewide Medical and Health Exercise Program consists of four phases (Multi-media Training, Organizational Self Assessment, Tabletop Exercise, and Functional Exercise) where each phase helps to build on and prepare for the next phase. The program utilizes the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and aligns with Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)/Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) grants.

The Statewide Medical and Health Exercise Program is customizable to fit the needs of any local organization, facility, or jurisdiction. You can change the scenario, exercise date, objectives, or any other details to fit your needs.

You can find more information and the exercise materials on the SWMHE Website.

HAvBED

HAvBED is a federally-mandated program that requires states to collect and report local hospital available bed data. HAvBED data helps identify healthcare system capacity and demand during a public health emergency or mass casualty incident. In California, the CDPHi EPO manages the HAvBED program in partnership with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA).

As part of the federal Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) grant, CDPH conducts regular statewide drills to collect HAvBED data from California’s 435 licensed general acute care hospitals (GACHs). Such drills require all California hospitals to report their data to CDPH within a specific time frame requested.

ShakeOut

The ShakeOut is an annual earthquake drill and preparedness activity put on by the Earthquake Country Alliance. Everyone is welcome to participate. Find out more at www.earthquakecountry.org.

Planning for Active Shooter Incidents

An active shooter is defined as an individual who is actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in the hospital or on the hospital campus. In most cases active shooters use a firearm(s) and display no pattern or method for selection of their victims. In some cases active shooters use other weapons and/or improvised explosive devices to cause additional victims and act as an impediment to police and emergency responders.

Active Shooter Resources for Hospitals

Active Shooter Training Video

This instructive video from the US Department of Homeland Security demonstrates possible actions to take if confronted with an active shooter scenario. The video reviews the choices of evacuating, hiding, or, as an option of last resort, challenging the shooter. The video also shows how to assist authorities once law enforcement enters the scene.

View the Active Shooter Training Video

Course Description

This 4-hour course covers the design, development, conduct, and evaluation of hospital exercises, with instruction on how to coordinate regulatory, accreditation and grant exercise requirements.

The course utilizes the concepts and tools from the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and incorporates accreditation requirements (such as The Joint Commission) while focusing on the flexibility of exercise design and modification of available tools to meet specific hospital needs, and facilitating participation in an exercise that coordinates with local, state, and federal partners.

This course was developed under the CHA Hospital Preparedness Program for hospital staff responsible for exercise development, conduct, evaluation, and after action reporting.

For more information and interest in training please contact Mary Massey at 714-315-0572.

Exercise Program for Hospitals Checklist

This tool was was developed by the CHA Hospital Preparedness Program to assist hospitals in development, implementation and evaluation of their exercises. 

Individual exercises are part of an Exercise and Evaluation Cycle under the hospital’s Emergency Management Program.  These exercises may be isolated within the hospital, or part of a larger community, or even statewide, exercise such as the California Statewide Medical Health Exercise.  It is the intent of the checklist to provide an overview, guidance and resources for hospitals which allows a more coordinated effort and can be tailored to the facility.

Download the CHA HPP Exercise Program for Hospitals Checklist

Upcoming Events