Case Study: Emergency Preparedness
A fire in the vicinity caused a facility to evacuate and relocate residents to temporary locations for their safety. The residents, their medications and charts along with moveable computers were relocated to a safe area. The residents’ families were notified of the facility evacuation. The residents’ immediate basic needs for food, toileting and medications were met by on-duty and off-duty staff, regional managers, community members and volunteer staff from other facilities. The residents were divided into smaller groups and transported to four separate facilities for overnight care. Each family member was contacted by the DON and informed of the specific facility where their family member had been taken.
The facility had an evacuation strategy and it was followed. The residents were provided care while they were away from the facility. The residents were also assured and received communication from familiar staff during the evacuation. No emotional trauma was noted. In fact, some of the residents looked at it as an outing/adventure. Residents taken to a facility without access to the computers had written notes documented. Upon return to the facility, each resident was assessed for skin issues and respiratory concerns due to having been moved through smoke-filled areas.
A report of the entire facility evacuation process was submitted to QAPI for an analysis of any needed changes or improvements
