SR/REG-1 - Emergency Response - Evacuate or Shelter in Place

Hazardous events that may force health care facilities to make decisions about evacuating or sheltering in place are becoming more common. These decisions are complicated, often made under stressful circumstances, and can have life or death consequences. Because internal or external situations may require either partial or total evacuation, healthcare organizations should assess their organization’s risks, devise a comprehensive evacuation plan, and test the plan. The plan should incorporate strategies to conduct both planned and unscheduled evacuations. As organizations and professionals providing care for the frail elderly and persons with disabilities, nursing homes have a moral, legal, and professional responsibility to plan and prepare for emergency operations, including the decision to evacuate or shelter-in-place. Unfortunately, major disasters continue to occur such as the recent Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, yet they provide lessons learned and offer opportunities for facilities to learn how to better prepare for an evacuation. Evacuation of a nursing home is time-consuming, complex, and expensive and must be thoughtfully addressed in the facility’s emergency preparedness and response plan, which includes discerned decision-making criteria to help make these decisions in a timely and effective manner, depending on the hazardous event faced. This presentation will discuss how aging services facilities can determine whether to evacuate or shelter in place, understand the different types of evacuations, and relevant guidance and regulations to consider.