Contingency Planning in Healthcare

Develop the contingency Planning and Policy- It is crucial for the organization to pre-determine policy and procedure if the contingency plan is put into action for the outpatient surgery center. The contingency plan is crucial in reaction to a crisis or detrimental changes, leaving little time to adapt. The organization will need to forecasts potential crisis for the outpatient surgery center while writing policies and guidelines for if when the contingency plan is activated.

Having these plans in place give the Disaster Recovery team the instructions they need when disaster strikes

In day to day operations, uncertainties do occur. Henceforth it would be important to have a contingent and well detailed disaster preparedness plan and procedures. Healthcare systems, on a day to day basis, are faced with emergencies in form of disasters. As a result, majority of medical centers have well-structured exit plans in the event of a disaster occurring("Hospital Disaster Preparedness: Your Guide to Getting Started - Emergency Preparedness", 2011). However, this essay will aim at interviewing one of the top disaster preparedness staffat the Houston Methodist Hospital. In the interview, I will seek to identify the top three disasters that the Houston Methodist Hospital is prepared for. Similarly, in the interview, I would seek to identify the top lessons learnt from disaster preparedness at the hospitals.As it concludes it would summarize the findings with regards to the interview stated below. Below is an excerpt from the interview to answer the two aforementioned questions.

We have established a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to handle our resources to provide safe environment for our patients in the event of adverse conditions such as power failures, water, fuel shortages, flooding, and communication breakdowns. Our facilities are prepared, staff knows responsibilities to extend patient care under disrupted utilities and other emergency situations.

Due to many changes in health service organizations’ internal and external environment, planning can be sometimes onerous (Longest & Darr, 2008, p. 366). Therefore, a well thought strategic plan will guide leaders and keep them focus on the organization’s mission. In health service organizations, strategic planning is emanated at the top level of the pyramid, then pass down to others in leadership positions (Longest & Darr, 2008, p. 366). A strategic planning process consists of many steps: a situational analysis, external environment analysis, internal environment analysis, strategy formulation, strategic implementation, and strategic control. As mentioned before, health service organization faced many challenges, a strategic planning not only helps with planning, controlling, and decision making, but it also allows management to analyze their strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats. Again, the strategic planning process has proven to be effective when implemented by the entire organization.

Hospitals are dependent on external support and supplies, which makes them vulnerable institutions in an event of disaster. Any disruption of external supplies or support services can halt essential hospital operations, which can put the community, patients and staff at increased risk during a disaster. Having an emergency preparedness plan that is current along with performing continuous testing and training of the hospital staff ensures that hospital staff can respond effectively and efficiently to any disaster whether it is terrorism, weather or a pandemic

The goal of the information disaster recovery processes and a robust contingency plan is to maintain the resiliency of General Hospital during any type of data disruption. Continuation of essential functions at all times requires the ability to adapt to changes and risks. The disaster recovery and contingency plans consider risk management and other security and emergency management activities that are

A Visitor control center will be assigned for all visitors who wish to be informed regarding patient's condition and whether a family member was injured. Normal visiting hours are suspended during an emergency situation. A hospital staff member will stay with visitors, and a list may need to be kept of visitors. Volunteers should be enrolled in helping flow.

Practice makes perfect or at least a perfectly executed plan, but errors still can occur even with the best laid plans, but with practice, errors are minimized. First and foremost, the safety of all personnel must be observed. Emergency responders should be in secure location and not take action until they may do so safely. In some instances, this means not entering damaged structures until assessed by engineers. Lines of communication must be maintained during the event, this may include satellite phones and radios (NIMS,

Nurses are among the largest group in healthcare. If there is a disaster, having the nursing profession on board is important because of the positive impact that could be felt. There is no standardized training for nurses on disaster planning (Gebbie & Qureshi, 2002). So, involving nurses in the disaster assessment and preparedness plan would be helpful so that there can be buy-in from one of the largest groups that is going to be involved. This hospital has done a great job of preparing for disaster and used these plan correctly. The hospital was having several drills per year and made sure that all personal was involved including administration ( Hamlin, 2015).

In today’s world, emergencies of all types occur frequently. They include floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, infectious diseases, wildfires, anthrax threats, riots and civil disturbance, and terrorism, to name a few. There must be plans already in place to

Life is full of unexpected disasters as well as calculated ones. As a whole, society cannot account for all disasters that will occur nor can we successful eliminate the results of these disasters. That’s why in most advanced societies there are people in place to manage and or monitor natural disasters. These people are in charge of the planning process and execution of emergency management systems or operations. They are essentially the people responsible for ensuring that when a disaster whether natural or acts of fate occur the effect on the community or society as whole is minimal. The emergency manager or planner is to follow a strategic planning process that encompasses a variety of aspects including but not limited to a

Disasters of varying degree, natural or manmade, can happen at any time in any area. It is imperative that the necessary emergency preparedness plans are in place and responders are properly trained. While disasters can take on a variety of forms, the plan should be inclusive of all possible threats in the surrounding areas. Public safety and healthcare providers must work together to ensure that they have a cohesive plan of action. They must plan how resources will be delegated as soon as an emergency is announced. Disasters are inevitable but planning reduces panic and confusion, which allows response personnel to react accordingly.

Healthcare organizations must continually make adjustments to maintain optimal function (Christiansen 2002). A number of different techniques can be used to determine where adjustments need to be made. One essential technique involves a discussion of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses,

The objective of this study was to develop a strategic contingency planning model to be used to fully incorporate emergency management and business continuity into organization structures. (For the purpose of this study, Emergency Management and Business Continuity were collectively referred to as “contingency planning.”) Presently, contingency planning is mainly done on an operational or tactical level. Current thinking suggests that contingency planning should be an active part of organizations’ overall strategic planning processes as well. Organizations will ultimately be better prepared for future disasters and crises.