In 2005, there was the Hurricane Katrina, followed with the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, and the 2013 bombings during the Boston marathon (Chandler). These are examples of large-scale crisis that require ample emergency management from healthcare professionals. The population of people in urban centers is increasing, and so is the prevalence of such disasters. Healthcare organizations, on the other hand, are also expanding and looking for innovative ways to make their services better and fit for the complex environment. The hospitality industry is changing as it is affected by technology, insurance, government policies, and varying organizational structures. However, even with these factors, hospitals need to prepare to respond to large-scale crises in a manner that entails effective planning, communicating, receiving, and documenting critical information in an emergency.
Thanks to technological innovations and specialized systems in healthcare, many hospitals have different and most effective ways of life-saving. The lifesaving capabilities offer effective options during emergencies to ensure lifesaving objective is achieved (Medford-Davis & Kapur, 2014). Increased efficiency in lifesaving can only be possible if it is coupled with a targeted and more detailed communication plan. The hospital requires proper planning in that each type of crisis and emergency requires a different approach to response. In particular, the hospital's response to, for instance, a hurricane will be different from that of an epidemic like H1N1.
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Effective communication in emergency entails putting one factor into consideration; a crisis will never come with a warning. Emergencies often arise as a surprise and in the most unlikely situations. As such, a hospital has to be quick in responding and saving lives. In 2013, The Boston Marathon bombings occurred, and three people succumbed almost immediately while 264 others were injured (Chandler). Due to the effective management of emergency services and communication channels, of all the victims that arrived in hospitals, none perished. Indeed, within seconds after the bombing, various first aid stations were put up, and trained medical professionals were on the scene attending to casualties. Police officers and other responders moved into action immediately. The communication of the message and response was enough to ensure no more deaths apart from the three inevitable ones that had already occurred (Chandler).
From the incident, it is evident that communication is vital in the management of emergencies. Within seconds, the medical personnel’s had put up first aid centers, and people were already receiving treatment. Since it was a sports event, some medical professionals were already on the site as it is required and provided by the government.
Moreover, effective management of emergencies needs practice (Medford-Davis & Kapur, 2014). This requires that medical personnel should have drills off a hypothetical crisis. Such exercises should be done regularly to ensure the personnel familiarizes with defined roles and responsibilities that they might have in case of a real tragedy. The drills require proper planning, which would then be demonstrated and applied during the emergency.
Additionally, proper planning is effective in saving lives (Premier safety institute, 2015). For instance, the Boston Marathon bombings were fatal and could have led to the loss of many lives. However, there was proper planning prior to the event, which ensured there were enough medical professional, medical resources, and adequate channels of communication between the medical fraternity, law enforcement and event organizers. Though the bombings came as a surprise, the medical personnel were already prepared to deal with such an occurrence (Chandler). Due to the proper planning, only three people perished, and the remaining who were in critical condition were attended to accordingly. The medical personnel also helped in transferring the injured victims to hospitals for further treatment where they fully recovered progressively.
From the above considerations, it is patent that communication during a disaster needs to be well detailed, planned, and pre-rehearsed to ensure maximum saving of lives (Chandler). Additionally, the communication strategy needs to be individualized. Healthcare professional should always be ready for any emergency that might occur at a given time. For such preparedness, they must be prepared to tailor communication to suit the needs of a particular crisis. An essential aspect of communication today is that its efficiency has been increased with modern technology. As such, the use of modern communication in the health sector could further improve its effectiveness and make saving lives easier.
A healthcare facility needs a crisis communication plan and improved management of emergencies for the obvious reason; the unthinkable is bound to happen (Premier safety institute, 2015). When the unexpected happens, there is probably an increased chance of heavy causalities and fatalities. Indeed, a crisis that is bound to occur may include natural disasters such as floods, storms, and earthquakes. Biological disasters entail pandemics and epidemics while human-made disasters include terrorist actions such as bombings. Others include chemical terrorism and bioterrorism, war, violent outbreaks due to civil unrest, accidents such as road accidents, and safety failures in using technological tools. Hybrid events, on the other hand, entail disasters that result as a consequence of another disaster. Communication breakdowns may also occur during emergencies due to heightened stress level during the event.
In conclusion, emergency management entails how an organization is able to respond and deal with an impending disaster. As such, a communication plan is required to ensure adequate emergency management. Communication is dependent on the type of disaster, preparedness, and rehearsals prior to the incident. In this paper, it is argued that proper practice yields preparedness, which in turn maximizes the potential of saving more lives.
References
Medford-Davis, L. N., & Kapur, G. B. (2014). Preparing for effective communications during disasters: lessons from a World Health Organization quality improvement project. International journal of emergency medicine , 7 (1), 15. doi:10.1186/1865-1380-7-15
Chandler,, R. C. (n.d.). Disaster Crisis Communication Preparedness for Healthcare . Retrieved from http://go.everbridge.com/rs/everbridge/images/WhitePaper_DisasterCrisisCommunicationPreparednessHealthcare.pdf
Premier safety institute. (2015, August 18). Emergency preparedness for healthcare - Premier Safety Institute . Retrieved from http://www.premiersafetyinstitute.org/safety-topics-az/emergency-preparedness/emergency-preparedness/
