To: John Wilkesboro, Chief Operating Officer, Berwick Hospital System
From: Po Hattan, Chief Continuity Manager, Berwick Hospital System
Re: Continuity plans for operations and associated risks relating to catastrophic disruption due to environmental causes
Date: January 27, 2007
A medical center with over 500 beds located in an urban area provided the majority of charity service in the city, although it was known for quality patient care. The staff valued this reputation, had pride in the physical facilities, and placed value on education. The hospital placed great value on innovative boundary-spanning activities, community outreach and marketing, and enjoyed "comfortable" staffing levels and large investments in technology. Unfortunately, when struck by a severe flood in the region the hospital did not utilize its "adequate" disaster recovery plan, but fell back on a "learn as we go" mentality. The result: while the medical center suffered no internal damage, it sustained severe alterations in its patient services and care delivery. It faced critical staffing shortages, and was forced to cope with a lack of easily accessible potable water for almost three weeks. (1) As this and other medical facilities throughout the U.S. and the world have discovered, it is one thing to simply have an emergency plan on file with authorities and an entirely different matter to adequately plan, practice, and successfully implement an effective disaster recovery/continuity plan.
Maintaining continuity of operations at Berwick Hospital is of critical importance in the face of an environmental catastrophe. Successfully coping with a disaster, whether natural, man-made, or terrorist attack, incorporates several key elements. The National Inci ...