Emergency Preparedness Project

Scenario 

You are a risk management professional at City Hospital, a Joint Commission accredited hospital located in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest. In order to prepare stakeholders for the results and reasoning behind an upcoming risk assessment, the hospital administrator has asked you to prepare a brief describing the fundamentals of emergency preparedness. This brief will be used to inform stakeholders on key concepts in emergency preparedness.

Following that description, the administrator has asked you to select three tools, appropriate to an urban hospital setting, from the Health and Human Services ASPR TRACIE website. Once you have selected three tools for hazard and vulnerability analysis, compare and contrast these tools. Your comparison should address the intended audience of these tools, their use/purpose for healthcare organizations, and the benefits and limitations of each of these tools.

Directions

Your emergency preparedness brief should be written with an audience of internal hospital stakeholders in mind. This brief should address the fundamentals of emergency preparedness in a healthcare setting and prepare stakeholders for oncoming emergency preparedness planning. In your brief, your supervisor has asked that you address the following elements:

Emergency Preparedness Fundamentals: As your brief will be for internal stakeholders, your supervisor has asked you to begin with a high-level overview of emergency preparedness fundamentals. As you construct this brief, address the following elements:

• Explain the importance of emergency preparedness. In your explanation, address the following:
  • What are the benefits of a healthcare organization having an emergency preparedness plan?
  • How do emergency preparedness plans help address the risks posed by healthcare emergencies?
• Describe and explain the key elements of emergency preparedness. In discussing these key elements, address the following:
  • What is the disaster life cycle? How does it influence emergency preparedness plans?
• Describe the all-hazards approach in healthcare settings. In describing the all-hazards approach, address the following:
  • Why is an all-hazards approach positive for healthcare organizations?
  • What challenges can the all-hazards approach present for healthcare organizations?
• Identify types of emergencies relevant to a hospital setting. In identifying these emergencies, address the following:
  • How do these emergencies impact healthcare providers?
  • How can each of the identified disasters be mitigated through emergency preparedness?
• Describe the roles of internal and external stakeholders in healthcare emergency preparedness. In describing these roles, address the following:
  • What individuals, public groups, and private groups, do hospitals interact with?
  • What types of information would these groups need to know during a crisis?
  • What would a hospital need to know from these stakeholders in a crisis?

Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis: Following your description of emergency preparedness fundamentals, your supervisor has asked you to address the first step in the development of any emergency preparedness policy: the hazard, risk, and vulnerability analysis (HVA). In this section of your brief, your supervisor has asked you to describe the key elements of HVAs and compare three tools used by hospitals to conduct these assessments. Following your comparison, your manager has asked you to recommend one tool, considered in your comparison, for use at City Hospital.

• Describe the key elements of a risk assessment and vulnerability analysis. In your description, consider the following:
  • Why is a risk assessment important?
  • What is the goal of risk assessment?

• Compare and contrast the intended audience, use, purpose, approach, benefits, and limitations of three risk assessment tools.
• Recommend and justify the recommendation of one risk assessment tool.

What to Submit

Emergency Preparedness Brief
Create a short brief (3–4 pages) describing the importance of emergency preparedness policies in healthcare organizations, comparing three risk assessment tools, and describing the key elements of a risk assessment and vulnerability analysis.