Keeping Residents Safe with Disaster Preparedness Plans
Last year, the nation watched as Hurricane Harvey dumped torrential rainfall across the south, leaving homes and businesses in shambles. Heartbreaking photos of the devastation swept across news websites. One photo in particular made headlines: the residents of La Vita Bella Nursing Home in Dickinson, TX, submerged in waist-deep water.
After the owners tweeted the photo, which went viral, the residents were eventually rescued and air-lifted to safety. Natural disasters are unavoidable, which is why it is essential to implement disaster plans and conduct training sessions to help keep both employees and residents safe should an emergency arise.
Federal regulations require that Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes have written emergency plans and provide employees with emergency preparedness training. Even though many facilities have emergency plans in place, they fail to regularly update or inadequately train staff on using the plan. Emergency plans are living documents and should be updated on an annual basis. Employee training should be integrated into new staff onboarding procedures. Keeping staff of all levels and all shifts properly trained will prepare them for emergency situations and allow them to accurately and calmly execute the disaster plan, putting the safety of residents first.