North Broward Medical Center (NBMC) Emergency Preparedness has been built on the lessons of past hurricanes, as well as what organizations like FEMA and The Joint Commission have learned from the entire spectrum of calamities that have happened since the infamous 9/11. Hospitals, like NBMC, are using an ALL-HAZARDS approach to Emergency Preparedness which is based on the national standard for disaster response: National Incident Management System. All responding organizations, whether from local municipalities, state or Federal partners, use the Incident Command System (ICS) to manage and control an incident. ICS is a flexible, standardized, on-the-scene incident management concept. It is designed specifically to allow responders to adopt an integrated, organizational structure equal to the complexity and demands of any single incident, or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.
The staff at NBMC have all been trained in the NIMS/ICS and have certificates from FEMA on file. All new employees have to take and pass the NIMS training course which consists of 3-modules from FEMA. Assistant Managers and above take an additional FEMA NIMS module structured for managers.
NBMC, like other healthcare facilities, has made special preparations for all hazards, but at this time of year the hospital focuses on its hurricane readiness. As the start of the hurricane season nears, NBMC reviews its hurricane preparedness and response plans, readies supplies that are stored in preparation for a hurricane response, such as disposable bed linen, potable water, and many other items often used should a hurricane impact our hospital. The inventories of medical and other essential supplies are enough to allow our hospital to continue to function for up to 4-days, if needed, before it is necessary to request outside resources.
NBMC conducts a Hurricane Tabletop drill with our management team to ensure we have ample supply of medical gases, such as oxygen, generator fuel, water for drinking and food preparation as well as enough food for patients and staff. NBMC maintains a water well that is able to provide non-potable water for sanitary purposes. The emergency generators are tested monthly to be sure the facility will have power if municipal power is lost. A portable generator unit is brought on site for the duration of the hurricane season to provide an additional back-up to the emergency generators to assure continuity of hospital operations during and following a hurricane.
Agreements have been signed with key suppliers of food, water, linens, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to be sure they have ample supplies to bring in the event of an impending storm to fortify our local inventory, or to re-supply from remote locations after the storm in the Recovery Stage of the event.
Each year, the individual hospital departments update their response plans which include a phone contact list and scheduling of staff before, during and after the hurricane. A Disaster Preparedness Guide for staff and managers is provided each year to help them prepare their homes and families for an impending storm. The Guide contains helpful information like pet care, child care considerations, what to do with valuable documents, how much water to have on hand (1 gallon per day per person for 7 days), store up dry foods and canned goods like tuna fish, evaporated milk, etc., propane fuel or charcoal for the barbeque, fill the bath tub and large containers for cooking and cleaning water and many other practical ideas.