NLIGHTENMENT DISASTER S.O.P.
n a ! t C ’ n n e a o l h D kt P a c i K ake —M dne e r a rep on P r e ast by Sam McComm Creating a Dis
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obody likes to think about disasters. Whether you’re talking about wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or extraterrestrial invasions, our minds have a tendency to relegate such possibilities to some distant, non-real future. After all, who wants to spend time worrying about something you can’t do anything to stop? Unfortunately, as a medical practitioner, it’s your responsibility to prepare for disasters. Fortunately, on the other hand, you can do plenty to be prepared for such events — even if you lack the power to prevent them in the first place. A presentation at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting (AAO 2020 Virtual) by Mrs. Shawn Carter (COE, OCS), held on November 17, 2020, provided valuable insight as to how best to prepare your practice for disasters. While you certainly shouldn’t spend all of your time worrying about and preparing for catastrophe, getting ready for such an eventuality can spare you and your practice significant pain in the long run. As the saying goes, “When
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disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed.” So, let’s dive into the steps laid out — none of which are radical, but all of which are practical.
Do some research Before you begin, of course, you’ll need to consider your particular circumstances. What natural disasters might affect you? Which ones have occurred recently? Are natural disasters common in your area? For example, while it would be silly for someone in California to prepare for a tornado or hurricane, making plans for a wildfire or earthquake would be prudent, indeed. And while someone in Florida need not prepare for a devastating blizzard, hurricane preparation is simply a necessity. Each region of the planet comes with its own risks. You get the drift. There’s plenty to research when it comes to your own practice, too. What are the critical areas or functions you
can’t do without? What would you be willing to sacrifice in a disaster? Mrs. Carter recommends conducting a stress test on your business to see just how you’d do afterward: construct a scenario or set of scenarios and see how they play out. This is how the military prepares for all sorts of eventualities. If you’re in the U.S., ready.gov has some valuable advice for disaster preparedness. Other websites like NOAA Disaster Preparedness can be useful as well. Plenty of others specialize in disaster preparedness. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You should also have plenty of contacts available. Besides the obvious emergency services, think about writing down contact information for utilities, insurance, the local sheriff, and create an employee phone tree.
Map out emergency action plans Mrs. Carter recommends creating an emergency action team based on
| Dec 2020/Jan 2021
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