At what point does an emergency response activation become the ‘new normal’?

As we approach the “end” of 2020 (and holding on to the hope that 2020 won’t find a way to persist into next year), I was pondering the question of how one might meet the requirement for a second emergency response activation if one did not have the extraordinary foresight to plan and conduct an exercise before the wheels fell off the world back in March. My thought was that the complexities of the current situation (and the onset of the “flu season”) might give you enough variation to parse the current response (certainly we are not in the same “place” as we were back in the spring) into two evaluations (making sure that we are accounting for an evaluation of the critical response elements: communications, resources and assets, staff roles and responsibilities, safety and security, utility systems, patient care). I suppose one could also “leverage” the update of your hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA)—if you have had a spare moment to do so. As I recall, everyone had pandemic on their HVA, with varying degrees of presumed preparedness. It will be interesting/instructive to see how well your previous analysis matched up with how your organization has fared thus far. It is certainly within the realm of improvement to evaluate current response activities in terms of lessons learned over the past few months (and extrapolating into the next few months).

One glimmer of hope for organizations that are accredited by The Joint Commission is a note attached to the drill requirements that indicates that organizations are exempt from engaging in their next full scale exercise following the onset of the emergency event. My “read” is that (and I believe that this applies for as long as the presidential declaration is in place) folks are allowed to focus their attentions on managing the emergency at hand as opposed to having to come with something else (new, different, etc.) to exercise. I hope to get some confirmation of this over the next little while, but I’d be interested to hear from anyone that has undergone recent survey—my hope is for some flexibility on this count—in full recognition that flexibility has not necessarily been the hallmark of the survey process of late.

At any rate, as this whole megillah had a beginning (and is certainly having a middle), hopefully it will have an end that results in a return to the “old normal.”

Hope you are all well and staying safe. Please stay in touch as you can!

About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.