safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT
safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT
safety bulletin - AVMA PLIT
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<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.