Blizzards, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, ice storms. There\u2019s no stopping disasters. Even so, you can reduce their impact on your healthcare community with emergency planning and preparedness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want your lack of disaster planning to be your next disaster,\u201d says Linda Eck Mills, MBA, RDN, LDN, FADA, a Regional Sales Executive of Meals For All, a provider of emergency food and water resources and information.<\/p>\n
With weather and climate disasters occuring every year, emergency preparedness is a must\u2014even if you\u2019re not at risk of a major natural calamity. Things as common as power outages, water main breaks or civil unrest can trigger an emergency situation.<\/p>\n
Each province sets requirements to ensure adequate planning for natural and man-made disasters, including coordination with federal and local agencies. Regulations include keeping enough emergency food and water to address likely emergencies.<\/p>\n
Those are rules. Before you get to the rule book, Eck Mills says there are five steps to making sure you\u2019re able to manage safety and nutrition during an emergency. <\/p>\n
1. Plan for your emergency.<\/strong> 2. Keep food on site.<\/strong> 3. Meet everyone\u2019s diet needs.<\/strong> 4. Manage water properly<\/strong> 5. Have resources ready<\/strong> In an emergency, healthcare locations should first use food that\u2019s on hand in this order:<\/p>\n The risk of counting on daily food inventory, Eck Mills says, is uncertainty. <\/p>\n \u201cI talk to foodservice directors all the time and they say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m going to use the food in my refrigerator and freezer, and it won\u2019t be a problem because we have a generator.\u2019 Then they find out the foodservice area isn\u2019t on the generator.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why planning matters, she says. Power to the fridge doesn\u2019t mean power to the oven. And what if residents must be evacuated? If the emergency strikes during third shift, it\u2019s unlikely the foodservice team will be there, leaving the nursing team to handle meals.<\/p>\n Being prepared for emergencies and stocking food and water is more than just a requirement. Eck Mills points out that it protects the safety of patients\/residents, and it instills confidence in your business. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re not adequately looking after the health and wellbeing of those in your care, you will have people leaving after a disaster when loved ones see that the care of their mother was not what was expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIdentify at least the top five disasters or emergencies that could happen in your geographic area, and have policies and procedures for each. \u201cKeep in mind that there could be multiple disasters going on at the same time,\u201d she says. \u201cIn 2020, we had COVID-19 in addition to natural disasters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHow many days of supplies do you have in house? Relying on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for restocking is risky\u2014only as good as the supply chain, which can be disrupted during emergencies. There is considerable peace of mind and value with a pre-planned, freeze-dried and shelf-stable meal program.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s essential to adequately meet the needs of both the medical\/therapeutic diets and the texture modified diets with familiar comfort foods, including nutritional analysis. Consider your number of licensed beds, not your census. In an emergency, you may need to feed residents or patients from another location.<\/p>\n
\nBig drums of water are wonderful if you have someone to move them around. Consider the size of the containers and how easy they are to distribute. Again, beware of MOUs and have water on site. \u201cIf the whole region needs water at the same time, that dairy down the road isn\u2019t going to have enough tanks to go around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThis starts with staff education and training about emergency preparedness. Print out policies, procedures and plans. \u201cYou cannot rely on electronics because you may not have electricity to retrieve information.\u201d Gordon Food Service recommends having a printed copy of your menu and tray cards\/tickets for a three-day period, in addition to an updated printout of diet order lists.<\/p>\nKnow how food will be used<\/h3>\n
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Guard their safety, your reputation<\/h3>\n