Dear Hospital / Healthcare Preparedness Colleague,
If hospital staff sheltering during natural or other disasters is a concern for your facility, please read on.
"Accommodating Accommodations"
A Hospital Staff Sheltering Tabletop Exercise
Recent hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, winter storms and other disasters have caused hospitals to examine their staff sheltering plans. Many hospitals report they don't have any. What often is the ad hoc "Plan" ranges from turning unused patient rooms, classrooms or doctor sleep-rooms into staff sleep areas, or bringing back decommissioned beds; usually with the understanding these areas will be vacated should patient surge occur. Other hospitals state they have motels / hotels in the area that could be used. The problem here is that if hospital staff are stranded then it's likely visitors in the community are also stranded – at the motels / hotels. Some hospitals report that the need for staff sheltering seems to be happening at an increasing frequency.
Sleeping accommodations are not the extent of the issue. There's also the need to provide bedding, toiletries, and food. And in some instances, staff may be distracted or actually leave if their family (including pets) which, for them, becomes a higher priority. Could / should the hospital staff shelter plan include their families? Finally, the very real potential for patient surge during these severe weather situations further complicates the time, efforts and resources directed towards staff (and family?) sheltering.
So what's a hospital to do?
For starters, hospitals are encouraged to participate in "Accommodating Accommodations", a hospital staff sheltering online exercise that will take place on December 15, 2011. This exercise, provided at NO COST to participants, will provide an opportunity for hospital management and staff that make up the Hospital Incident Command or similar team to work through a number of challenging scenarios and injects. The focus will be on caring for hospital staff and their families during an event that necessitates a hospital providing staff with shelter at or nearby the hospital.
"Accommodating Accommodations" is part of the new Caduceus Shield Exercise Initiative created to provide exercises for critical components of America's health system.
All Caduceus Shield exercises are aligned with various emergency management standards for hospital accreditation organizations such as The Joint Commission and Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.
Please note: Caduceus Shield exercises are not webinars or training seminars. These are comprehensively designed, challenging formats following Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program (HSEEP) guidelines with thought-provoking injects lasting 2-3 hours and which will provide participants with a basis to measure outcomes and formulate Incident Action and Improvement Plans.
Caduceus Shield exercises are created and produced by:
Disaster Resistant Communities Group LLC
Chris Floyd – 850-241-3565
6224 Wake Robin Ln., Tallahassee, FL 32309
and
The Stoneybrook Group LLC
Ric Skinner, GISP – 413-262-2561
12 Stoneybrook Dr., Sturbridge, MA 01566
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Aaron Richman
Global: +1.202.596.9557
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