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Tip of the week: Put your emergency systems to the test

Infection Control Monitor, June 20, 2008

The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) requires hospitals to perform an emergency exercise twice annually to test their systems. It’s a good idea to perform this test using a more routine infectious disease outbreak as an element of your event, says Peggy Luebbert, MS, MT (ASCP), CIC, CHSP, owner of Healthcare Interventions, Inc., in Omaha, NE.

Greenville (SC) Hospital System is doing just that this fall. “One of the things we’re already planning for our fall emergency drill is to test a mass vaccination scenario using seasonal flu vaccine,” says Sue Boeker, RN, BSN, CIC, an ICP at Greenville. The drill will help test the facility’s readiness to roll out a mass vaccination in an emergency situation, such as a pandemic flu outbreak, but it’s also meeting an everyday need: helping the hospital get ready for its regular influenza season.

To read more about how your emergency preparedness system can improve your IC program, go to www.hcpro.com/content/212428.cfm. The cost is $10. Briefings on Infection Control subscribers received this story with their subscriptions.

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