Message from AHVAP President-Elect

I am writing this mid-April following Mother Nature’s late April Fool’s joke. In New Hampshire, we just had a classic, late-season Nor’easter, resulting in significant heavy snow and massive power outages. In my home, we were technically ‘off-grid’ for about 48 hours but were not without power. Our large generator powers our heat, water, refrigerators/freezers, and even the internet. My cooktop is gas, and I have been known to make stovetop pizza in my cast iron pan during past power outages; we lose power a lot. We even have a smaller generator in case the larger one fails. As my husband says, “Two is one, and one is none.”

So, how does this relate to value analysis? Simple. Whether at home or work, you must have contingencies in place. When unexpected events occur, I always reflect and ask myself two critical questions. What could I have done better? How can I ensure continuity? My home answer differs from my professional answer, but both are important.

Have you ever worked in a hospital where the power was lost, and the generator did not kick on? I did. It was scary. There were places without windows (or flashlights), so patients and staff were in complete darkness. The ICU had to manually ventilate patients as some backup batteries did not last long once off the grid. Have you ever experienced a complete network outage at your facility? I know a few IDNs who lost all capabilities with their network infrastructure. Some were resolved quickly with little to no interruptions, while others spanned months with large pockets of data lost.

When service interruptions or other incidents, as discussed above, occur, people initially react with shock and then search for a plan outlining action steps. I will tell you firsthand that having a plan beforehand makes these (hopefully rare) occurrences much easier to navigate. If you do not have an emergency plan for your department, start by asking yourself, what are the critical processes of my department? List out these tasks and responsibilities. Once these critical tasks are identified, list any secondary tasks and responsibilities. Then, for each list, identify vital contacts, including their full contact information, any account numbers, computer programs or web addresses, and files you would need if something happened, and the network was unavailable. Ensure all this information is accessible to you and your team and shared with any departments such as supply chain, IT, or emergency management. How will these plans be accessed in the case of an off-line network? Thumb drive, external hard drive, or paper? When processes or information changes, update accordingly. Ask about involvement in incident command training, such as tabletop exercises. This ensures that the processes you identified are accurate and that your plan isn’t missing any pieces.

The initial compilation of information is the heaviest lift, but updating the information is much easier once it is complete. Remember, as the leader, people will look to you for the information and the plan. Whether at home or work, making your way through any type of disruption with a plan is much easier than figuring it out as you go.

Sincerely,

Anne Marie Orlando, MBA, RN, RCIS, CVAHP™, FACHDM, PNAP, FAHVAP
President-Elect, Board of Directors
AHVAP