WOBURN, Mass.—In support of National Emergency Preparedness Month, HealthcareSource®, the leading provider of talent management solutions for the healthcare industry, has released strategic recommendations to enable hospitals, senior living communities, and healthcare organizations to prepare staff for emergency situations.
Emergencies such as power failures, cyberattacks, and environmental crises require training to ensure staff and patient safety while addressing containment, risk mitigation, and continuous functioning of the community under extreme conditions.
“As events such as Hurricane Dorian have shown us, the more prepared employees are, the more quickly and effectively they can respond to and recover from crisis situations,” said Michael Grossi, CEO, HealthcareSource. “Hospitals and senior living communities prioritize the safety of patients and staff—planning ahead with staff preparedness measures can enable them to save lives and ensure ongoing function. The importance of this preparation cannot be overstated.”
One frequently overlooked first step in emergency preparedness is hiring for the right soft skills in the first place. Adding specific emergency response skills requirements to all job descriptions, including cybersecurity skills in select administrative position descriptions, and integrating readiness skills into behavioral assessments and structured interview questions are two steps recruitment teams can take to help support emergency preparedness.
Any strategic emergency readiness plan should include regularly scheduled staff training throughout the organization for all types of emergencies, and establish protocols, such as:
- A command center in the event of a community-wide emergency
- A process for connecting with staff, especially when normal lines of communication are down, as well other healthcare, civil authorities, EMS, fire, and police
- Scheduled and surprise drills to walk teams through the process for each type of emergency
- Procedure for notifying family members and next of kin, including who is responsible for it and messaging for specific situations
- Patient and resident evacuation processes
Additional recommendations, including how organizations can minimize and counteract the effects of a cyberattack and address the specific scenarios faced by senior living communities, can be found in this resource from HealthcareSource.
About HealthcareSource
HealthcareSource® is the only comprehensive talent management suite designed specifically to support the healthcare talent ecosystem. Our software, services, content, and analytics enable more than 3,500 healthcare organizations, senior care providers, and staffing agencies, spanning over 6,000 locations, to ensure quality patient and client care by recruiting, retaining, and developing quality talent. HealthcareSource and its award-winning healthcare talent management solutions have been recognized by industry analysts and trade groups.