Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
for myself and the children I could pick up. My
wife had our home or would try to get to the
hospital once she had the children on her side of
the bridge. We actually had a windstorm and earth-
quake and in both cases, while not ideal, this plan
worked. Staff (and others) will use the hospital as
a safe haven and family refuge—build it into your
plans.
Additional family planning includes resources
for staff and family to sleep and eat at the
hospital. Consider gasoline availability for vehi-
cles, carpooling and other resources for moving
families around.
contractor) orientation? Is there a Clinical Engi-
neering departmental disaster plan? Ideally this
should be about one page in length. Is the review
of departmental plan included in the departmental
orientation? Is the plan practiced during hospital
drills and improved based on experience? Is Clin-
ical Engineering part of the Hospitals Emergency
Preparedness Committee?
Is emergency powered lighting available in
the clinical engineering shop? Emergency power
receptacles? It is difficult to repair something if
you cannot power it or see it.
Most Clinical Engineering departments should
create a small “Disaster Kit” that can be used in
a crisis should the shop area have to be evacu-
ated or worse (Figure 16.1). This kit contains basic
items such as a small tool kit, VOM, basic safety
supplies, flashlights, paper copy of the medical
equipment database, pens, papers and pencils.
Some Clinical Engineering departments have
created actual disaster carts (Figure 16.2). These
carts contain spare equipment (typically monitors,
pulse oximeters, oxygen regulators, etc.), heavy
duty (12 G) extension cords of various lengths
(10-100 feet), spare ECG cables, NIBP compo-
nents, and other “consumable” items for ICU moni-
tors (Table 16.1). Flashlights, bull horns, basic
tools, suction regulators, and many other items.
Typically these carts are made up from equipment
that would be surplussed or traded in.
16.6 Individual Preparedness
Individual preparedness is the mindset that we
must accept as part of the position. Hospitals are
critical part of any community disaster planning
and response. Disasters have an impact and while
as many folks when faced with a disaster can
just go home, patient care demands that hospital
employees remain on the job. You will be expected
to perform during a disaster and most of us
will experience at least one disaster during our
careers.
Individual preparedness includes basic family
planning, home emergency kits, and family commu-
nications plans. The American Red Cross [6]
and others have excellent examples of this. The
information is readily available on the Internet.
Individual preparedness is a mindset. If you live
in the Midwest, there will be a tornado at some-
time. On the Gulf Coast, there will be hurricanes,
in the west, there will be earthquakes. Hopefully,
they will be minor or miss you, your family, and
your hospital. But if not, you do not have the
choice of not being prepared. A little preparation
for an event will pay significant dividends should
it occur.
16.7.1 Medical Technology
Clinical Engineers might not consider it emergency
preparedness, but they have routinely performed
emergency preparedness activities. Equipment that
malfunctions during emergency power tests due
to lack of power, receive uninterruptible power
supplies. Complete spares of critical equipment
such as bedside ICU monitors are typically found
in biomedical inventories. Spare parts to allow
rapid repair and minimize downtime for routine
devices such as defibrillators are stocked in
biomedical shops. The very best means of tech-
nology preparedness is to manage all of the medical
technology to maximum performance on a daily
and routine basis.
16.7 Departmental Preparedness
Departmental preparedness starts with some basic
orientation. Are all staff familiar with the hospital's
emergency preparedness plan, is the review of
plan included in employee (volunteer, student, and
