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Ready, Set . . . Ten steps to an effective emergency preparedness plan BY ROBERT KURTZ


“In 2013, the US experienced numerous environmental disasters that affected ASCs and their communities,” says Lisa Austin, RN, CASC, vice president of operations for Pinnacle III, based in Lakewood, Colorado. “We were also affected by ‘man-made emergen- cies’ like mass shootings and cyber- attacks. Emergencies can happen in any community, so it behooves ASCs to have a response plan to assist in any way they can.” Austin, who served as chair of the


emergency preparedness committee for Colorado ASCs, identifies 10 steps to effective ASC emergency preparedness.


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Identify vulnerabilities and threats. “Form an emergency preparedness committee, ana-


lyze emergencies that have happened in the recent past and determine the potential risk these emergencies pose for your ASC,” Austin says. “Every ASC needs to identify its own vulnera- bilities and threats.”


List capabilities and resources for emergency response. “Identify valuable emergency


response skills your personnel pos- sess,” Austin says. “Maybe someone has crisis management experience or speaks multiple languages—both valu- able skills during emergencies. Iden- tify vendors who can help your ASC continue some semblance of business during emergencies.” Austin also advises ASCs to evalu- ate their insurance annually to ensure adequate coverage.


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Identify and post evacua- tion routes and assembly areas. “These maps need to


be reviewed during new employee ori- entation and on an annual basis. Staff


34 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2014


Emergencies can happen in any community, so it behooves ASCs to have a response plan to assist in any way they can.”


— Lisa Austin, RN, CASC Pinnacle III


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Develop a business resump- tion plan. “Assemble a list of your vendors, creditors and


anyone to be notified during an emer- gency, particularly if you need to tem- porarily move your location,” Austin says. “Maintain a thorough inventory of equipment and supplies to help identify whether you have appropri- ate insurance coverage and work with your carrier when disaster strikes.”


need to know the best escape route in the event of an emergency in the ASC . . . and where to assemble once they leave the building,” Austin advises.


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Plan for effective use of your staff. “ASCs should establish emergency response roles for


all staff and designate key staff to coor- dinate the response for each potential disaster identified,” Austin says. “The role staff members are assigned dur- ing a fire will be different from their assignment during a cyber-attack.”


Establish a notification plan and emergency contact list. Maintain updated contact


information for all employees, physi- cians, nearby fire stations, police sta- tions and hospitals, Austin says. “This should be reviewed and updated, at a minimum, on an annual basis.”


Consider emergency assis- tance


and support to employees. “In the event of


an emergency, you might consider pro- viding financial assistance or flexible work hours to staff members,” Austin says. “Perhaps you will provide staff with crisis counseling and day care.”


Plan for the protection of data. “Maintain regular backups of your data, email and system configuration files. In the event of a flood or tornado, when your information technology (IT) system is compromised, you won’t have to start from scratch,” Austin notes. “Test your backup systems regularly.”


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Develop an emergency com- munications


plan. “How would you communicate with


emergency responders and vendors if you lost power?” she asks. “You can- not necessarily rely on cell phones as emergencies often lead to cellular net- work slowdowns and failures. You may want to incorporate the use of pagers or emergency radio systems. Have a backup to the backup to the backup.”


Establish an emergency training plan. “Work with your local fire department and police station to conduct drills on handling different kinds of emer- gencies,” says Austin. “Identify major highways and transportation arteries that might be affected by a disaster, and determine how to work around potential disruptions. There is no such thing as too much training.”


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