This presentation outlines California’s Public Health and Medical Response System, identifies healthcare facilities’ role in the system, and details best practices and lessons-learned from events.
Evacuation of a health care facility may be necessary following an emergency such as a facility fire or damage from a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flooding. The decision to evacuate a health care facility will be based on the ability of the facility to meet the medical needs of the patients. Immediate threats to life, such as internal fires or unstable structures, will require emergent evacuation, while other situations may allow for a planned and phased evacuation.
2024 Disaster Conference
This presentation focuses on the dynamics of emergency preparedness under adverse conditions, where collaboration and communication faced unique challenges within an unfamiliar setting. Gain insights into the complexities of managing power outages while ensuring the safety and well-being of all those involved and obtain lessons learned for enhancing emergency preparedness response strategies.
AHRQ has released a model to help federal, state, and local emergency planners estimate the vehicles, drivers, road capacity and other resources they will need to evacuate patients and others from health care facilities in disaster areas.
This guide is designed to help organize the initial assessment of a hospital upon return after an evacuation/closure due to an emergency event. The specific assessments are meant to be conducted by hospital staff to assess the level and locations of damage sustained by the hospital, and provide information that will be needed to create the full recovery plan. This guide will be particularly useful for assessing a hospital that has sustained significant or widespread damage.
EMSA/CDPH Collaboration The California Patient Movement Plan provides statewide guidance for large-scale patient movement and serves as framework for local planning efforts. Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will conduct training and exercises based on the plan.
The Joint Commission in EM.03.01.03 requires the deficiencies and opportunities for improvement, identified in the evaluation of all emergency response exercises be communicated to the improvement team responsible for monitoring environment of care issues. NFPA 1600 requires that procedures shall be established to take corrective action on any deficiency identified.
The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) is a capabilities and performance-based exercise program that provides a standardized methodology and terminology for exercise design, development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.
2024 Disaster Conference
This presentation prepares newer disaster planners with exercise drill skills. It provides exercise regulatory information from The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, design strategies, and planning considerations for various types of disaster exercises. Newer exercise design planners will become more disaster resilient while understanding how to effectively evaluate and document an EP exercise to meet their requirements. This session provides best practice information and the tools for post-disaster exercise meetings, forms, documentation, and after-action/process improvement.
Hospitals must be prepared to respond to public health emergencies that may create a sudden demand on services. Disaster drills allow hospitals to test response capabilities to these emergencies in real time.