Knowledge Center

During times of disaster, hospitals play an integral role as the community safety net, providing essential medical care that must be available often times within a moment’s notice. Strategic planning and ongoing training are necessary to identifying, dispatching and mobilizing critical material and human resources. The health care supply chain professional is a vital component of any hospital emergency response team and the hospital incident command center.

This AHRMM tool covers how health care supply chain professionals should prepare for disasters, with the input from various disciplines. The tool includes supply consumption adjustment calculations and several preparedness plans such as The Joint Commission Emergency Operations Plan ®, the Hospital Incident Commend System (HICS) and the 10 Elements for a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).

Preparing for disasters is a much more difficult task than preparing for the day-to-day emergencies that a health care facility or system faces. Disaster preparation goes beyond the health care facility walls. It involves coordination with community partners and federal and state responders. Disaster preparation calls for everyone to work together for a common goal: to meet the needs of the community in a time of extreme devastation. This manual provides a framework for preparing for such a coordinated and collaborative response to a disaster.

How to write a constructive, information-rich comment that clearly communicates and supports its claims to have an impact on regulatory decision making.