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Preparedness

Response

Recovery

Mitigation

Environment of Care & Emergency Response

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Environment of Care Management�

There are six EOC Management Plans:

Safety and Security

1

Hazardous Materials and Waste

2

Emergency

3

Fire Safety

4

Medical Equipment

5

Utilities

6

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Emergency Management

Written plan with state, local, and federal agencies

Drills are conducted on a regular basis to test our readiness

Emergency Operations Plan covers the planning and management of employees and material resources

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Hospital Emergency Codes

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Fire Response

How to trigger the fire alarm
Your smoke compartments
The location of exits and extinguishers
Your department-specific roles and responsibilities
RACE and PASS

Fires are a very serious threat in healthcare. There are key things everyone needs to know if a fire were to occur. In your department there may be more specific information for you to know, such as equipment in the kitchen that is used for those types of fires. The big focus is to save and protect lives – our patients and our own.

In our hospital there are red pull stations which alerts the entire hospital and the fire department that we have an emergency. Make sure you know where the closest pull stations are in your work area.

Our hospital is subdivided by smoke compartments which are separated by firewalls. In the event that we had to move patients away from a fire we would make sure we are moving them to a different smoke compartment. In our hospital, you can tell where a smoke compartment is by (insert your hospital information).

You also need to know where the fire exits and fire extinguishers are. Make sure you become familiar with those in your work areas and as you travel throughout the hospital.

In the event of a fire, there are different functions in each department. Each department needs to send at least one person with an extinguisher to help with a fire event, but in some departments there are other duties. Your manager will inform you of those responsibilities in your department-specific orientation. RACE and PASS are acronyms that help us remember what to do in the event of a fire. We will go into those in more detail next.

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R.A.C.E.

RESCUE/REMOVE anyone in immediate danger

R

A

C

E

EXTINGUISH small controllable fires or EVACUATE

ACTIVATE the Fire ALARM

CONFINE the fire (close the door)

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P.A.S.S.

PULL the pin

P

A

S

SWEEP from side to side at the base of the fire until it appears to be out

AIM low - pointing the nozzle at the base of the fire

SQUEEZE handle to release the extinguishing agent

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Security Access

Badge access system

No badge = no access to non-public areas
Don’t prop doors
Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you see someone in the wrong place

It is important to know that we use a badge access system to control who enters our environment. If someone does not have a badge, do not let them in any entrance other than the main lobby and they must use our sign in procedure. Do not prop open doors. Leaving an external door propped open defeats the security system and allows anyone to come in.

Each employee has a responsibility to make sure we are safe. Do not let non-employees in employee-only areas. Vendors can enter these areas with a badge we give them or accompanied by an employee. Friends and family can only visit you in the lobby or the cafeteria as the patient care areas are limited to those visiting or caring for patients. There are a few reasons for this: facility safety and patient confidentiality.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you see someone in the wrong place. You can do this politely by asking “May I help you?” and then leading them to the proper location. It is ok to indicate they are in an employee-only area and request they move to a public space. If they refuse or you are worried about this interaction, get your supervisor immediately.

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Hazardous Materials and Waste

Hazardous wastes include liquids, solids, gases, and sludge

You will receive training in your department orientation

Proper disposal of hazardous waste is carefully monitored

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Utilities Management

Contingency plans are in place in the event of a disruption in utility service.

During a power outage red receptacles and light switches are powered

The utility management program ensures that in addition to having adequate utilities to run the hospital, we have contingency plans in place in the event of a disruption in utility service. The hospital emergency generator is tested monthly to ensure that in the event of a power failure it is in full working order.

Remember: During a power outage red receptacles and light switches will be the ONLY units powered by the emergency generator.

What other utilities you can think of that would be included in the Utilities Management program ? (HVAC (heating/ventilation/air conditioning), Plumbing, Medical Gas Systems, Water)

This concludes our section on Emergency Management. You will receive additional training in your department-specific orientation so you can learn how your role handles emergencies. Do you have any questions I can answer at this time?

Let’s do a review before break.

FACILITATOR INSTRUCTIONS:

Make this review fun and interactive. Some options include (depending on the number of participants):

Option 1: Divide the audience into halves and spark competition between the two groups. (You can continue the competition with other reviews planned as well.)

Insert questions surrounding Clinical Outcomes, Patient Satisfaction, and Emergency Management. (Highlight the most important information to retain.)
Facilitator provides correct answers if the correct answers are not known.

Option 2: Divide the audience into halves and have each group create 3-5 review questions for certain sections for the other half of the audience to answer.

Facilitator provides correct answers if the correct answers are not known.

Option 3: Determine your own form of review.