Good and Not Forgotten: Emergency Management Lessons from the Pandemic

Keep leaning forward—even when current trends say to relax

Anyone who has been in the hospital through the years of the pandemic has become accustomed to closely monitoring respiratory virus data to adequately manage supplies, space, and staffing.

Then we see headlines such as this—Cases hit pre-COVID lows as virus season begins—and it is easy to take a deep breath and relax.  It wasn’t but two years ago that our state battled the three-headed monster of RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 all at once, and it strained our facilities to the max.

News articles and public health reports showing respiratory viruses are low are excellent! We must remember that not everyone who is sick goes to get tested and so perhaps those trends are not entirely accurate.  Wastewater data is useful as it does not rely on physical testing and reporting to assist in correlating data.  Once again, that data for Pennsylvania is trending low.

As emergency managers, some may think that we are pessimistic about what could be coming down the pike. Perhaps a better way to think about it is our reliance on a forward-leaning posture to be ready to meet the emergency when it occurs.

Consider some of the measures that we took two years ago during a respiratory virus surge when hospitals were inundated with patients, especially pediatrics:

• Air filtration enhancement in patient care areas and waiting areas.
• Supply chain par levels and the importance of secondary suppliers.
• Transfer agreements with children’s hospitals and provider credentialling to keep pediatric patients in-house if needed
• Keeping environmental services staff up to date with cleaning procedures for different pathogens
• Ability to consult with a pediatric provider if holding pediatric patients in the ED occurs.

As staff turnover occurs and time passes, our plans that succeeded two years ago may roll out differently today. With planning and coordination, we can bolster our plans and prepare staff to meet future surges. Even if current trends point to a calm season, prepare for the storm.

For more information, contact Ryan Weaver, MBA, BSN, RN, CPPS, CHEP, manager, emergency management.

 

Return to Blog main page