You are the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for a regional acute care hospital. You learn at 4:20pm on a Friday afternoon that the local power grid has gone down for an unknown period of time. The cause of the blackout is not yet known, as local utilities have begun investigating the incident. Upon receiving the news, the Engineering Chief calls you to inform you that the facility generators are operating normally in lieu of power from the grid. You next get a call from your facility CEO asking what actions need to be taken immediately to limit disruption to patient care. They want to know if we are “prepared” for an effective response.
Applying all you have learned in the course to date, provide the following information in your response to the facility CEO:
- What steps have you as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator taken prior to the blackout to be prepared for an effective response?
- After learning of the blackout, what steps should be taken in the following minutes and hours to ensure continuity of care?
- What communications strategy should be developed to communicate with staff, patients, and the wider public?
- What measures should be taken in order to account for vulnerable populations?
Your response should be a minimum of 600 words. Provide citations to the reference materials to support your answer. Provide a reference page at the end of your response.
