Does your facility have an emergency Plan?

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

Hello all.

I work in Colorado and we have recently been struck by a couple of snow storms. The first one I don't believe we were prepared for. It was bad and most roads through the metro Denver area were closed. The second one this week I think is really missing the Denver Metro area and nothing to worry about.

For those of you that have gone through States of Emergency, for example hurricanes, floods and snowstorms did your facility have some sort of Emergency Plan in place?

Ours hasn't.

In fact, the answer my DON had was to threaten people with their licenses if they didn't come in on the first snowstorm.

We all knew she couldn't do this, and by the second snowstorm which really isn't that bad (I just drove home in a front wheel drive vehicle after a 16hr shift) her tone had softened and she thanked people for coming in and being prepared to stay at the facility if need be.

Anyway, what I wanted to know is do you have some sort of disaster plan in place, if you're stuck there, if the power goes out after generators fail? To be honest, the thought of all that scared me something rotten. I feel that if something like that happened, that I would be held responsible for my patients even though those above me let me down. It didn't happen, but now the thought is in my head.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Hello all.

For those of you that have gone through States of Emergency, for example hurricanes, floods and snowstorms did your facility have some sort of Emergency Plan in place?

When in the hospital, yep.....worked many a blizzard as always started during my night shift. If knew it was coming , would back 2 night bag. Slept in used unit, nun's room and even nearby nurses aides homes.

Now in homecare, Sr Management runs the emergency plan from my offices kitchen as I manage Central Intake. Have the fun of helping revise plan yearly as part of safety committee too.

Just bought flashlights and radios of all our distant offices per safety plan...over head of one senior mgmt staffer who said we had plenty of window light...:trout: