Emergency Preparedness

Kern Medical Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) b. Allow hospital to remain fully or partially operational. • Review plans and procedures. Update contact information. • Check inventory of supplies and pharmaceuticals. Augment as needed. • Reduce hospital operations to essential services. • Cancel non-essential appointments. • Ensure safety of patients and staff. • Communicate status to ESF8C . 3.14.5.3 Determining Kern Medical’s Response Role ( See Appendix E – Hospital Response Roles and Requirements) If Kern Medical remains fully or partially operational following an incident, the Chief Executive Officer, Medical Director, and other members of the EMG will define the response role the hospital will play. The appropriate response role for Kern Medical will depend on the following factors: • The impact of the incident on Kern Medical. • The level of personnel and other resources available for response. • The pre-event medical care and other service capacity of Kern Medical. • The medical care environment of the community both before and after an incident occurs as assessed by the ESF8C (e.g., medical care demands may be reduced if the 911 system and nearby hospitals are operational and not overwhelmed). • The needs and response actions of residents of the community served by Kern Medical ( e.g., convergence to the hospital following incidents). • The priorities established by the Kern Medical Executive Director and Boardof Directors (e.g., to remain open if at all possible following a incident). • The degree of planning and preparedness of Kern Medical and its staff. An External Incident is an event that occurs in the community. Examples include earthquakes, floods, fires, hazardous materials releases or terrorist events. An external incident may directly impact the hospital facility and its ability to operate. Local emergencies are incidents with effects limited to a relatively small area. In local emergencies, other health facilities and resources will be relatively unaffected and remain viable options for sending assistance or receiving patients from the incident area. In widespread emergencies, nearby medical resources are likely to be impacted and therefore less likely to be able to offer assistance to the hospital. Hospitals may also have a higher response priority than hospitals for resupply and other response assistance. Preparations for an event involving weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological, or explosives (CBRNE) - should be based on existing programs for handling hazardous materials. See Appendix R – Bioterrorism Agents for a matrix of biological weapons agent characteristics. If staff suspects an event involving CBRNE weapons has occurred, they should: • Remain calm and isolate the victims to prevent further contamination within the facility. • Contact the Administrator on Call, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator or supervisor. • Secure personal protective equipment and wait for instructions.

3.15 Response to External Emergencies

3.15.1 Local vs. Widespread Emergencies

3.15.2 Weapons of Mass Destruction ( WMD )

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