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In Case of Emergency: Preparing Your Practice for a Disaster

As Florida residents, we’re accustomed to dealing with hurricanes and other natural disasters when it comes to our homes and families. However, as healthcare providers, it’s also important to have a plan in place for your medical practice when a storm hits.

Hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November 30, with storms peaking in August and September.

How Area Hospitals Prepare

In Central Florida, hospitals are well prepared for any hurricane or disaster. The Orlando Health emergency preparedness team has thorough plans in place for when a storm is headed our way. Orlando Health makes sure all their staff reviews their hurricane management plan. According to an article on the Orlando Health website, “We join conference calls with the National Weather Service, and relay that information to our hospital representatives to make sure they are updated.” Well before the storm hits, every Orlando Health hospital receives shipments of three to seven days’ worth of food for their staff, patients and visitors. “Orlando Health also creates a staffing plan for each site, as doctors, nurses and other medical staff may have to work long hours,” according to Orlando Health. “Our hospital engineering departments work through a checklist to secure our buildings and we alert our facilities and construction staff that they need to prepare.” AdventHealth hospitals in Central Florida have facility and engineering teams that make sure proper resources are on hand for the duration of a storm. This includes fuel, water, linens, medical gases, food and water pumps. “They also conduct property checks to verify other necessary functions are operating properly. This includes clearing roof drains, inspecting generators and emergency lighting, hardening facilities with sandbags and plywood, etc.,” said Rick Sanchez, Director of Safety & Emergency Management at AdventHealth Central Florida Division. To keep lines of communication open during a storm, AdventHealth has a robust internal and external communications team that messages key information to the correct employee groups. “They are active participants in command center operations and work alongside leaders to quickly and accurately push out messages for timely response actions. Hospital staff receiving messages also have department level leaders that can connect with the command center to up-channel information for necessary action, support, or evaluation,” said Sanchez.

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew was the first major hurricane to devastate Florida since 2005. “After such a long hiatus, AdventHealth still managed to properly handle all important aspects of storm mitigation by implementing strong preparedness planning and embracing fluid communications across all business lines at all levels,” said Sanchez. “Although our healthcare properties across Central Florida were impacted in various ways (minimal flooding, downed power lines, intermittent power outages), AdventHealth was able to continue uninterrupted patient care as well as bolster recovery efforts through a well-coordinated facility prioritization and assessment method.”

How Local Medical Practices Can Develop a Disaster Plan

For medical practices, implementing your disaster plan will ensure your practice is kept safe in the event of a natural disaster such as a hurricane. Establish a disaster plan during a calm time before any threat has occurred. Go over the plan with your staff so everyone is well prepared in an emergency. Familiarize yourself with Central Florida’s evacuation routes, emergency phone numbers and shelters. If you are in a situation where you cannot leave your building, find an enclosed, windowless area in the center of the building away from any glass. Insurance Coverage Have adequate replacement insurance that covers fire, flooding and catastrophic damage from natural disasters such as hurricanes. Have an updated inventory of all your practice’s equipment in case anything gets damaged. Make sure your insurance policy also includes business interruption coverage in a sufficient amount. Employee Communication Communication with employees and staff is key when it comes to implementing an effective disaster plan. Notify staff as soon as possible about an office closure. To contact every employee, keep a list of everyone’s home phone numbers, cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Patient Communication Let your patients know the best way to get in touch with your office when a disaster occurs. Post an alternate telephone number and e-mail address on your website and social media platforms. Since many answering services are down during a major disaster, consider using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). This phone service uses broadband Internet connectivity and is more likely to stay in service during a natural disaster.

Protect Your Property

Have plywood on hand to protect windows and doors from dangerous debris caused by wind. Consider trimming branches from trees close to your building that could fall and cause damage. Anchor large furniture such as bookshelves or file cabinets to the wall. Have a secure place to store office electronics, preferably in a high-up place where any possible flood water can’t reach.

Keep Important Documents Safe

To avoid losing important information, keep electronic files whenever possible. Medical practices need to prevent the loss of patient health data. Conduct regular data backups before a disaster occurs, not just when a threat like a hurricane is close. Backup all your electronic health records and other medical documents using cloud hosting services which will ensure your data is kept safe in an off-site secure location. Keep the contact information for your cloud hosting services handy if you need to contact them to recover your data. Make a copy of important business contacts such as lawyers, accountants, suppliers, banks, etc. and keep it in a safe secondary location.

County Emergency Management Information:

Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/EmergencySafety.aspx Osceola County: www.osceola.org/agencies-departments/emergency-management/hurricane-center/ Seminole County: www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/county-managers-office/prepareseminole/