Understanding what the disaster management cycle entails from an in-depth and professional perspective is vital towards dealing with disaster and recovering from it with minimal or zero casualties. The emergency preparedness of an institution such as the Columbus Regional Medical Center depends on their understanding and application of the disaster management cycle's directions and recommendations. In a contextual format, the disaster management cycle demonstrates the continuous process through which businesses, governments, and civil society plan to reduce the impact of the disaster and how to react immediately after a disaster. It details the steps taken to recover from the disaster that has occurred, in this case, the flooding of Columbus Regional Medical Center.
As the chief executive officer, the first step would be to ensure that each person was safe and accounted for both the patients and the medical and non-medical staff. In the first twenty hours of the flooding of the hospital disaster, I would seek to inform all the relevant emergency department units through raising the alarm in the mainstream media and social media platforms. I would make many calls and send a live video link about the predicament on all the communication platforms available for our plea to seek help to go viral. Ensuring that all the electrical power connection to the first floor of the facility is cut out and that any equipment that can be salvaged with minimal ease and risk is done would be a step that I give due consideration in the first twenty-four hours. In the same time frame, I would ensure that the necessary life support and non-life medical supplies needed by all the patients would not run out. Any additional would arrive at the facility through the air from our helipad at the top of our facility. Similarly, ensuring the relevant emergency department's response was on the way to take over from where our in-house emergency department had reached would be an undertaking that I would have done in the first twenty-four hours.
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During the flooding, I would ensure that the in-house emergency department takes the front row in the disaster by giving the professional guidelines to the rest of the staff and patients to stay safe. Establishing a centralized communication command system or committee that I will chair to offer credible and confirmed information about the number and state of fatalities and injured for communication to the mainstream media would be an activity that I would undertake during the flooding. During the flood, the committee would also assess the impact of the damage and the disruption of the health operational management activities. The financial and health implications assessment on the financial resources of the facility would be quantified during the period of the floods. During the flooding, I would ensure that the in-house disaster management team worked closely with emergency response and disaster management to ensure the risk level was mitigated to manageable standards as a long-lasting solution is being sought.
The first seven days of the disaster would have the efforts that I had collectively put together to move us from the mitigation, preparedness to the response and recovery phase of the flooding disaster. In the seven days, if the storms and rain ceased, I would monitor the water levels' lowering, particularly on the first floor of the rendered inhabitable facility. In the first week, I would ensure that the emergency and disaster teams' concerted effort was going on smoothly for the recovering phase to be realized. Part of my concern would be the fatalities' welfare and seeing where we would step in to help whenever possible. Checking up on the recovery of the injured due to the floods would be an undertaking that I would carry in the first week of the floods.
Coordinating efforts to receive help and support from the well-wishers and governmental departments to restore the Columbus Regional Medical Center to its previous state would be an ongoing process that I would schedule to undertake in the first week of the disaster. Working out a plan to rehabilitate the first floor of the facility through infrastructural facelifts for the normal operations to resume within the shortest time would be an activity that I would oversee in the first week of the floods. It would be orderly and prudent to hold a vigil mass for the departed staff for their memories and contribution to our patients' health and wellness to cemented and remembered in our hearts. This would be a show of solidarity and support to the families and the rest of our staff. Engaging the insurance service provider to come and assess the level of damage and start the compensation process would be an undertaking that I would schedule for the first week into the disaster. Efforts and plans to invest more in emergency and disaster preparedness is an issue that I would contemplate in the first week of the disaster. This would help to position our facility as a progressive one regarding disaster management in the foreseeable future. Regular meetings with the committee that I established would be conducted in the first week of the floods to ascertain the level of progress of our recovery.
