Hospital

Emergency Planning For Healthcare Professionals

Dec 18, 2018

A late November night rain transforms into an ice storm, making travel treacherous. Collisions clutter the streets. Emergency vehicles are having difficulty reaching these accidents. About seventy-five percent of homes and businesses in the town are without power.

Fortunately, the hospital's emergency plan calls for back-up generators to keep the power on during such emergencies.

Maximize efficiency and safety during a severe weather emergency with these tips:

  • Have a well-developed business continuity plan in place and be prepared to use it
  • Define the crisis manager who will take responsibility for executing on the business continuity plan
  • Contact additional staff to prepare for the large influx of patients
  • Train staff on how to handle emergency situations
  • Ensure a solid system of communication so that the hospital works together as one
  • When possible, warn staff ahead of time in order to have plenty of time for travel
  • Make the necessary arrangements for patients who may not be able to leave the hospital on the night of the event
  • Work with a weather consulting service such as StormGeo for real-time actionable weather insights

Hundreds of healthcare facilities utilize the meteorological expertise of StormGeo and these tips to ensure patients and staff stay safe during weather events. It is critical for healthcare professionals to have not only local up-to-date weather information, but also have a team of trained meteorologists available on the other end of a phone line 24/7 for business continuity support.

A nursing home in Houston, TX may not need to know about a severe thunderstorm in Denver, CO. But they would need to know about a tornado-producing system coming their way. The sooner they know, the sooner they can take precautionary actions. Anyone with long-term skilled care facility experience knows what is involved with moving residents to a severe weather shelter area. It takes time.

Adverse conditions happen. Healthcare professionals must maintain the health and safety of both patients and employees. It's more than a wise investment, it's potentially the difference between life and death. You should have peace of mind when it comes to emergency planning and disaster recovery, and that is what we provide our clients daily.