Emergency Preparedness: Questions and Answers
Barry Wante, Emergency Preparedness program manager, answers some frequently asked questions about the hospital’s emergency preparedness plan.
Is BWH prepared in the event of a disaster or emergency?
Yes. We have a comprehensive emergency management plan available to all employees for review in our Crisis Resource Manual on www.bwhpikenotes.org under Hospitalwide Policies and Manuals and then Emergency Management Manual.
We take an “all-hazards” approach to emergency preparedness, which provides core skills and competencies that apply to the management of a large or unusual incident. We cannot prepare for all possible events, but we can prepare for some of the more likely events and be sure the skills and resources necessary to successfully address those events are readily transferable to any emergency.
We remain vigilant and continually exercise and evaluate our emergency preparedness program. We also reach out to employees to be sure they know what is expected of them during an emergency.
How will I get information about what’s going on?
During an emergency, the first method of notification would likely be from an overhead page in the hospital. All staff should be familiar with the emergency condition codes. Code Amber is our disaster or emergency condition.
Information will be sent out to all employees via a broadcast e-mail and posted on the intranet. Depending on the situation, we may use the internal telephone system to further notify the floors of specific information. We also have back up emergency telephones.
If I’m not at work, how will I know what’s going on?
In case of a designated emergency involving Brigham and Women’s Hospital, employees should call the BWH Employee Emergency Announcement Line at 1-800-343-7036 to hear important announcements and updates. (See sidebar for more details on this.)
Your supervisor will coordinate communications and resources for your work area during an emergency.
How will I know I’m safe?
During an incident, senior leadership trained in incident command will coordinate all hospital functions from the Duncan Reid Emergency Operations Center. They will provide critical safety and response information to each floor. Our main focus is keeping all staff and patients and families safe.
BWH Establishes Employee Emergency Announcement Line
BWH employees now can call 1-800-343-7036 to receive important announcements and updates during designated emergencies involving the hospital. This line is part of BWH’s ongoing emergency preparedness efforts and one of several ways employees will receive communication in an emergency.
During a designated emergency that involves BWH, call 1-800-343-7036. You will hear a recorded message that provides information about the incident or event, what you should do, where else information is available and the date and time the message was last updated. The Emergency Preparedness team will update the message as new information becomes available.
If it’s busy, hang up and call again in a few minutes. The line is equipped to handle up to 3,000 callers at one time, and Emergency Preparedness staff are working to increase its capacity.
This line does not allow you to report information or leave a message. If you need to report an emergency, call 911 or BWH Security at 617-732-6555.