���Surveying The Emergency Preparedness Program

��Quantitative vs. Qualitative�Policies vs. Practice

�The Presidential administration has promised reforms to provide better pandemic and emergency preparedness in facilities.

��In light of the emerging infectious diseases, wildfires, inclement weather, loss of heating and energy…

�It is important to recognize when the emergency plan has been activated and take credit for what you do!

The facility must develop and maintain a written emergency program that is reviewed and updated at least annually.

�The plan should be available to staff and each staff should be aware of their role in response to an emergency. This includes PRN, agency and covering staff!

�The plan is based on a community risk assessment, facility risk assessment and an assessment of the resident population.

�If the community risk assessment is obtained from a community response coalition, the facility should be a part of its development

The facility risk assessment should be its own and include the risk of having a missing person.

Suggestions for annual review:��* Maintain an attendance record�* Indicate what was reviewed�* Index what was changed���

Recognize its parts and then drill it down:��* The emergency plan�* The communication plan�* Training�* Testing��

All-Hazards approach including emerging infectious diseases such as:��* Potentially infectious bio-hazardous waste�* Bioterrorism�* Pandemic Flu�* Highly Communicable diseases�

Meeting with the surveyor:��* Meet in person to help the surveyor navigate the written program.�* Have staff responsible for EP available.�* Have an organized book�* Identify where requirements are intertwined�* Budget enough time�* Interviews with others-do they know the plan?

Identify essential services and continuity of care

Cooperation and Collaboration:��* Keep meeting minutes or have some other way of demonstrating involvement in community collaborative efforts.��* Revisit arrangements with other facilities periodically (changes in ownership, leadership and staffing, etc.)

Emergency response:��Evacuate or Shelter in Place

Consider:�Food, water, medical and pharmaceutical supplies, staffing, transportation, supervision, loss of part of a building, etc.��

Where is the Emergency?��Have contingency plans for evacuation, transportation and staffing arrangements

E-0024��Using volunteers:�Consider Surge Staffing and how volunteers will be�vetted, deployed & what will oversight look like

Communication:�* Identify secondary method of communication�* Keep phone lists current�* Identify the calling tree�* Method of communicating with families�* Ensure residents and families are aware.�* Know the facility’s capacity/needs and who will communicate this to an incident commander.��

Training (initial, annual, major changes):��* Include staff, contractors, volunteers�* Record of training�* Demonstration of staff knowledge�

Testing:��Full Scale Exercise�Actual Emergency�Exercises of Choice��

Exemption applied if EP was activated due to COVID-19 PHE:��Only applied to next required full-scale exercise (not the exercise of choice) based on the facility’s 12 month exercise cycle

Evaluate your emergency response�Document the review�Make changes where needed�Update the plan�Provide training to staff