The word of the day is resilience

One of the truisms of managing healthcare in current climes and times is the importance of creating environments that can withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (and we’ve certainly had more than our share of those). In looking back at the last five or so years, it is very clear that the future—and what it’s likely to bring—can only be briefly glimpsed. We know something will show up, but identifying and planning for every possibility is nigh on impossible.

So, it comes down to finding a way to work towards (I swiped these from the FEMA website—it’s a wheel that didn’t need reinventing):

• Promoting a common understanding of resilience
• Emphasizing the critical relationship between chronic community stressors and acute shocks
• Addressing the resilience roles of individuals, organizations, and all levels of government
• Providing an actionable approach to resilience planning and implementation
• Incorporating a community resilience maturity model that walks through concrete steps to build resilience

Fortunately, FEMA has been devoting a lot of resources in this pursuit and, last month, released the National Resilience Guidance (NRG) publication. To go along with the release, FEMA has scheduled a series of 1-hour webinars over the next month to provide an overview of the NRG, including a review of other supplemental resources that are available. The webinars (there are 4 scheduled) are on a first come, first served basis; you can register for them here.

Resilience and resilience planning are complex undertakings that will take a coordinated effort across communities. We are all part of the solution and the sooner we get on the same page, the more effective will be our preparations. In looking over the Guidance, I am excited for the possibilities; we are stronger (and better prepared) together!

About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Chartis Group. 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 an advisory board member for Accreditation and Quality Compliance Center. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.