Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

The committee also should coordinate with local and state government agencies, the local
chapter of the Red Cross, local law enforcement officials, local civil defense authorities, and
local fire and rescue departments.
Because disasters can happen at anytime or any place, in many forms and with a varying
degree of severity, a comprehensive disaster plan should delineate written procedures designed
to ensure quick and efficient response to an external or internal disaster. The plan also should
include provisions for responding to specific kinds of disasters (such as power outages, plane
crashes, and so on). Among factors to be covered in specific disaster plans are the following:
• Allocation of supplies and labor (who is responsible)
• Responsibilities of specific departments and guidelines for interdepartmental cooperation
• Provisions for caring for existing patients or residents and for incoming disaster casualties
• Provisions for dealing with victims’ families, clergy, and media representatives
A system for notifying the institution’s employees of an impending disaster is vital to effective
disaster planning. Every employee should be able to recognize the public address code or
light signal used to announce disaster status in the institution, and evacuation routes should be
posted. In addition, the addresses and telephone numbers of all staff and employees should
be kept up-to-date so that in the event of an emergency, off-duty personnel could be called in.
The list should be arranged by department, with the name of the department head at the top.
It also might help to arrange employees’ names according to their geographical locations
throughout the city so that personnel who reside closest to the disaster area could be called
first. Supervisors should maintain copies of the call list at home as well as in the office.
The plan should include a list of vendors and other suppliers with telephone numbers, a
list of emergency supplies and location of where stored, preplanned menus, water purification
supplies, computer backup information, layout of department that is stored off-site, security
measures, ingress and egress doors, and how to report suspicious activity or persons.
Health care institutions should conduct regular disaster drills and disaster training programs
for all staff members and employees on all shifts. These programs should describe types
of potential disasters and procedures to be followed during each. The roles and responsibilities
of individual employee positions should be explained, and the following questions addressed:
• What identification should the employee wear during a disaster?
• Where should the employee report for work?
• To which department or supervisor should the employee report?
• What duties and responsibilities should the employee perform?
• What should the employee’s work priorities be?
• Where will the employee be able to find needed supplies?
• What will be the official communication system?
• What should the employee do once the disaster is over?
Food Service Department Disaster Plan
Safety, Security, and Emergency Preparedness
The food service department should develop a specific plan to ensure continuous operation and
safety while remaining consistent with the plans of the larger health care facility. To ensure this
objective, the director (or designee) should confer with the institution’s disaster-planning team
in developing and updating the department plan.
Developing the Food Service Department Disaster Plan
As indicated earlier, the food service department’s written disaster plan should support the institution’s
overall disaster plan. In maintaining and developing the department plan, the director
or designee will need to do the following:
461