b'| INFECTIOUS DISEASE GUIDEceeds at this starts with the organizations leadership. But everyone from C-suite executives to frontline workers must be involved in developing, testing, training, and executing the planning documents, says Chris Page, RN,director of management and technology consulting at Mazars USA, the global audit, accounting and consulting firm. At an organizational and departmen-tal level, says Page, a diverse team should be assembled to carry out these tasks. At a minimum, that team should include representatives from a number of functions from throughout the hospital, including but not limited to:Patient Care (Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer)Technology (Chief Information Officer)HR (representatives to ensure life, health and safety of employees and contractors)Emergency Management and/or Emergency Response TeamsFacilities Management and PersonnelBusiness Unit Leaders (Mid-Level)Patient Facing Unit Leader (Mid-Level)Information TechnologyLocal Response Agencies (First Responders, Hazmat etc., City/Homeland Security)Legal / General CounselPublic and CommunicationsDepartment Leaders (front line managers)Shift Leaders (Lead Nursing, for example)Leading through a crisis is much different than leading in typical conditions, of course. Brown points out as much. SEVERAL FACTORS TO CONSIDER Facilities should place an emphasis on fac- The challenge is to maintain the ability Hospital disaster plans are typically based ontors such as patient transport, patient andto think strategically in an environment that regulatory requirements and foreseeable risks.employee safety, data protection, and com- might be new. By staying focused on core assets, Most plans relate to the continuity of caremunication, for example (see sidebar).such as people, key relationships, reputation, toward patients, and for continuity of the facil- But there are other, sometimes overlookedbrand, finances and operations, its possible to ity and infrastructure as a whole, says Hartfactors to consider, says Brown.create increased value throughout the event. Brown, senior vice president of crisis prepared- Some hospitals might fail to match plansAs such, a cohesive team approach becomes ness at R3 Continuum, a Minneapolis-basedto insurance coverages, for instance, in orderinvaluable in creating a disaster plan and behavioral health company that providesto manage risk throughout the response andresponding to an actual event. And provided that evaluations, crisis response and consultingrecovery period. the team covers the necessary lines of business, designed to foster workplace well-being. Correlating things like anticipated downtimethese groups function more effectively when Because these plans have become special- to business interruption allows for the organiza- they remain streamlined and small, adds Brown. ized, and in many cases siloed, there is not alwaystion to respond and recover, Brown says.Teams that get too large have a tendency consistency across the organization, he adds.Naturally, implementing a plan that suc- to have issues of availability, consistency and www.elitecme.com |2020| INFECTIOUS DISEASE GUIDE 11'