Checklist: Re-opening after a disaster

On October 10, Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida, forcing two Florida hospitals to evacuate more than 300 patients due to building damage. On the same day, The Joint Commission (TJC) published a new Emergency Management Health Care Environment Checklist on its website, which helps healthcare organizations reopening their facilities after a disaster.

While the timing of these two events were coincidental, providers should to take time to go over the checklist and their emergency plans in general.

A TJC workgroup developed the checklist at the request of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. It aligns with the accreditor’s Emergency Management standards, covers both clinical and environmental issues, and addresses crucial post-disaster elements that need addressing before reopening. It should be noted that the checklist isn’t hurricane-specific.

Jim Kendig, TJC’s field director of Life Safety Code surveyors, says it’s critical that hospitals customize the checklist for their needs by examining the relationships they establish in the community, and at the regional and state levels.

“For example, in Florida, a county Office of Emergency Management met with utilities and other emergency support functions to determine hospitals and PSAPS [public safety answering points] are the first to receive power restoration,” he says. “Establishing an unidentified victims process is also a good start, as it the ability to share that information within an hour of a disaster event.”

“The Joint Commission’s Emergency Management Committee continues meeting with organizations after disaster events to glean important information to share with the field through our Environment of Care News and ongoing communications,” he adds. “This also give us the opportunity to ensure that our standards and elements of performance are effective and contemporary.”