30.11.2014 Views

safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT

safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT

safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

<strong>AVMA</strong> <strong>PLIT</strong><br />

<strong>safety</strong> <strong>bulletin</strong><br />

Produced by: Hub International Midwest Limited<br />

Vol. 16 No. 4 Fall 2008<br />

Emergency Action Planning<br />

Emergency Planning Basics for Veterinary Practices<br />

“Planning is more<br />

important than the plan”<br />

- Dwight D. Eisenhower<br />

The word “emergency” conjures up many different images—<br />

hurricanes, tornados, floods, and fires. Emergencies can happen<br />

at anytime so make sure you and your employees are prepared.<br />

Consider the life cycle of an emergency depicted below. Without<br />

planning, can you recover? This issue of Safety Bulletin covers<br />

four basic elements of emergency planning.<br />

EMERGENCY OCCURS<br />

EMERGENCY LIFE CYCLE<br />

Crisis Management<br />

Emergency Response<br />

Business Continuity<br />

Minutes Hours Weeks<br />

STEP 1—Assemble Your Planning Team<br />

Depending on the size of your practice, the emergency planning<br />

team may include key employees such as doctors, practice<br />

managers, and supervisors. The planning committee for smaller<br />

practices may include all employees. During this step, the team<br />

should develop a time-line to draft and to complete the Emergency<br />

Action Plan.<br />

STEP 2—Determine Potential Hazards<br />

Next, make a list of potential emergency situations. When you<br />

evaluate hazards, determine the full range of emergency threats<br />

to your practice. Emergencies may include fire, burglary, a<br />

workplace violence incident, chemical release in your facility,<br />

medical emergencies, earthquakes, wildfires, blizzard, loss of<br />

electric power, etc. If you are located near a river or creek, flooding<br />

may be an issue. If your facility is located in close proximity<br />

to a highway, a threat could be a hazardous material spill from a<br />

RECOVERY<br />

traffic accident. While the combinations are numerous, they can<br />

be properly managed.<br />

Also, consider the effect an emergency would have on your practice.<br />

If an emergency prevents you from caring for your patients,<br />

how will they receive the appropriate care? How will you manage<br />

and communicate<br />

to your customers<br />

or vendors? Do you<br />

have a relationship<br />

with another<br />

clinic to move your<br />

patients in the event<br />

of an emergency?<br />

Remember that<br />

when an emergency<br />

strikes, you may not<br />

be the only business<br />

affected. The key<br />

is to ask yourself<br />

how your practice<br />

will manage these<br />

obstacles.<br />

STEP 3—<br />

Develop<br />

a Written<br />

Plan<br />

The third step is<br />

to develop and<br />

implement a written<br />

plan that includes<br />

procedures and a list<br />

of potential challenges.<br />

Continued on reverse<br />

Ten Questions to Ask and<br />

Answer Before an Emergency<br />

Work with your emergency planning<br />

team to answer these questions for the<br />

written plan.<br />

1. If a fire occurred in your facility, how would<br />

you evacuate employees and patients?<br />

2. How would you meet patient needs?<br />

3. Do you have written reciprocal agreements<br />

with neighboring practices to assist you in<br />

caring for your patients?<br />

4. Will you have access to client telephone<br />

numbers?<br />

5. Do you have a phone tree to notify<br />

employees of a problem that occurs when<br />

the facility is closed?<br />

6. How will clients contact your company?<br />

7. Do you have a reserve supply of all<br />

necessary materials?<br />

8. Do you have a supply of water and<br />

nonperishable food if your employees are<br />

not able to leave the facility?<br />

9. If you lose power, do you have a backup<br />

power source or know someone who<br />

does?<br />

10. Do you back-up patient and financial<br />

records every day and store a copy offsite?<br />

And does your team know where to<br />

find and access these records?


Emergency Action Planning continued<br />

You’ll need to address these three action items:<br />

Develop a communication plan<br />

Develop a business continuity strategy<br />

Meet with or identify qualified outside entities that provide<br />

emergency response and emergency clean-up and recovery<br />

services.<br />

Once the team has agreed upon the plan, distribute a copy<br />

to each member. A sample Emergency Action Plan that can<br />

be customized to fit your operations is available on the <strong>PLIT</strong><br />

website under the Loss Control and Risk Management page.<br />

STEP 4—Periodically Practice and<br />

Update the Plan<br />

The fourth and final step in the plan development process is to<br />

periodically practice and update the plan. Assign one person on<br />

each shift to be in charge of implementing the procedures in the<br />

event of an emergency and identify a back-up person. Assign a<br />

person or committee to keep the plan up-to-date. Use practice<br />

drills to identify missing key elements. For instance, the practice<br />

drill may identify that more supplies are needed or that key<br />

personnel may be unavailable.<br />

After each practice session, update the plan accordingly.<br />

Periodic practice sessions may reveal that minor changes in the<br />

practice’s operations may significantly impact your ability to<br />

recover. For example if your telephone system is now digital,<br />

you may be prevented from dialing out when electrical power is<br />

disrupted. Other key areas to practice are the communication<br />

methods with your employees and customers. Keep in mind<br />

that authorities may not allow you to enter an area and this may<br />

drastically impact operations.<br />

Access the <strong>PLIT</strong> Sample<br />

Emergency Action Plan<br />

The <strong>PLIT</strong> is here to help you develop written<br />

<strong>safety</strong> programs and provide employee training.<br />

To access our new sample Emergency Action<br />

Plan, which you can tailor for your practice,<br />

logon at www.avmaplit.com. On the left-side<br />

navigation, click on Loss Control and Risk<br />

Management. You are now on the main <strong>safety</strong><br />

page and you will see several green hyperlinks.<br />

The last hyperlink is Safety Programs. Click<br />

here to access editable Word documents that you<br />

can tailor for your practice. In addition to the new<br />

Emergency Action Plan Program, you can also<br />

access editable documents for a return-to-work<br />

program, accident investigation and reporting,<br />

and hazard communication.<br />

* These programs are provided to you for reference purposes only. Provisions<br />

within these programs should be verified to ensure they comply with federal,<br />

state, and local regulations.<br />

Did You Know?<br />

In conclusion, use these four steps to help prepare for an emergency:<br />

assemble a team, determine potential hazards, develop<br />

a written plan, and practice and update your plan. It will take<br />

some effort, but as the people affected by emergencies of this<br />

past year will tell you, it’s worth the work.<br />

This newsletter provides a general guideline for chemical use. Readers should<br />

verify to ensure that they comply with federal, state, and local regulations.<br />

P.O. Box 1629<br />

Chicago, IL 60690-1629<br />

Phone 800-228-<strong>PLIT</strong> (7548)<br />

Fax 888-<strong>PLIT</strong>-FAX (754-8329)<br />

Fax-on-Demand 888-740-<strong>PLIT</strong><br />

Email info@avmaplit.com<br />

www.avmaplit.com<br />

Trust Broker and Consultant since 1962:<br />

Hub International Midwest Limited<br />

Hub International Midwest Insurance Agency (CA)<br />

The <strong>AVMA</strong> also has information on disaster<br />

planning on its website at www.avma.org.<br />

Visit the Disaster Preparedness section on<br />

the Products page.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!