Accredited providers are required to have plans for emergencies
and disasters, and the fall is a great time of year to review them
in preparation for any potential winter crises.
Emergencies are generally described as events that happen
suddenly during business hours, such as a fire, the loss of power
or utilities for an extended period of time or a flood from a burst
pipe or that type of immediate emergency. They can also include
such things as a robbery during business hours.
A disaster is described as a more “regional” issue
that affects an area or region, although a business could
experience an isolated disaster as well. Disasters include such
things as a strong tropical storm or hurricane, a blizzard or heavy
snow fall, an ice storm, a tornado, a gas line explosion or a
break-in with damage and loss of the ability for routine
operation.
The creation of both your emergency and disaster plans involve
some similar planning, but the implementation of each may vary.
In an emergency such as a fire or other reason to evacuate the
physical space quickly, check your smoke detectors, and the
placement, accessibility and expiration dates on fire
extinguishers. Conduct fire drills and practice evacuation
procedures at least annually, and identify a place where all
employees should gather in the event of an evacuation to ensure
that everyone has escaped safely. Accredited providers document
that these drills occur and look for ways, if any, that the process
could be improved.
A disaster plan is more comprehensive than an emergency plan and
includes such items as:
- Identifying customers at high risk if services/products are
not available
The patients at highest risk would always include those with
oxygen or infusion services. Even some patients at low risk, such
as those with wound care products, may need to be contacted prior
to an impending disaster to make sure they have enough supplies on
hand.
addresses
There may also be a list of essential employees who are the
decision-makers and who know how to implement the disaster plan.
Creating and implementing telephone trees or group email lists are
effective ways to contact staff in a short amount of time.
copies stored off-site
If you've ever had your computer crash, you know the importance
of having back-up data.
Providers in large metropolitan areas should have ready the
phone numbers and contact information of local media (radio and
television) in order to update the media with information that
their staff can monitor.
With advance notice of impending disasters, all vehicles should
be fully gassed and ready. In areas that are unaccustomed to heavy
snow fall, providers often need to rent or identify four-wheel
drive vehicles so that they can make deliveries into side streets
and neighborhoods that do not get plowed quickly.
Most important, your emergency and disaster plans are of no
value if they are only kept on site at your location and never
checked or practiced. Obviously, if a disaster occurs after hours
or if employees are unable to get to the business location, they
need to be contacted and the plan needs to be implemented
accordingly. There must be copies of the plan — including the
contact numbers, telephone trees, back- up data and access to
information — available outside the office.
Accreditation requirements, although they can be cumbersome at
times, have concrete value and improve the business processes of an
HME organization. There is no reason to implement processes and
procedures blindly for the sake of meeting accreditation
requirements if they have no meaning or value to your company.
Take advantage of this time in the fall, and again in the
spring, to ensure that your business is prepared and ready for an
emergency or a disaster. After you test your plans, correct, change
or improve any components that do not work or would be ineffective
now, while you have plenty of time to make things right.
Read more Accreditation Now
columns.
Mary Ellen Conway, RN, BSN, is president of Capital
Healthcare Group, LLC, Bethesda, Md., which provides health
care management expertise in accreditation preparation and survey
follow-up, operations assistance, design of quality improvement
programs and outcome measures. She can be contacted by phone at
301/896-0193 or through www.capitalhealthcaregroup.com.
