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Handling IC.6.10 is all about asking the right questions

Emergency Management Alert, March 20, 2007

You know that The Joint Commission's infection control standard IC.6.10 says that, as part of your emergency management activities, your hospital must prepare to respond to an influx, or the risk of an influx, of infectious patients.

But what are the first steps to making such a plan suitable for your facility?

In their March 13 HCPro audioconference, "Strategies to Handle the Joint Commission Hot Spots for 2007," experts Carol Shenold and Russ Olmsted recommended creating a foundation for action by asking these questions:
 
What are the triggers for developing awareness of influx management?  You know your staff best: What kind of information do they respond to? In what form?

What containment strategies do you have in place in your emergency department? Shenold and Olmsted suggest review of this component in light of communication strategies

Are you participating in regional and statewide preparedness planning? Who is your department liaison? Who should be?

Among the to-do items on your list should be familiarizing yourself with the HHS Flu Surge program; mapping out ways to limit cross transmission within the facility; and creating a chart detailing workforce allocation and reassignment--for example, in a pandemic, perioperative surgery personnel could be reassigned if elective surgery is suspended.

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