Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
institutions and their employees, it is important
to note that some providers and other personnel
work as independent contractors rather than as
employees. Institutions should consider the effects
of independent-contractor status with respect to the
ability to use certain personnel in the event of an
emergency, particularly if such individuals have
relationships with more than one institution. More-
over, public-sector healthcare institutions also must
bear in mind liability issues that might arise under
various civil-rights statutes.
25
exiting the institution (e.g., closed roads,
bridges, and mass-transit problems)?
d. Has the institution made provision for
emergency emotional, spiritual, psycho-
logical, and potentially psychiatric support
to its employees who are dealing with the
personal effects of the emergency? Does
it have a plan to employ a triage or other
mechanism in such a situation?
e. Has the institution anticipated providing
some long-term, post-response support
to its employees in the event of a
major disaster? Does it have the internal
resources to do so, or would it need to
go to another organization or agency? If it
needs to go elsewhere, does it know where
to go?
f. If an independent contractor has any of
its employees performing responsibilities
onsite at the institution, has that contractor
set up a mechanism to locate and safe-
guard its employees? Do such employees
have a central place to gather and sign in?
g. Does the institution know who the
independent-contractor employees are, and
where they would gather in an emergency
in case it needs to call upon their expertise
(e.g., a contractor providing routine on-
site staffing and management for an insti-
tution's data center)? Does the institution
know who to contact at the independent
contractor's office to get those individuals
resourced appropriately in an emergency?
h. Does the independent contractor know
what the institution's expectations are with
respect to the use of contractor employees
in an emergency?
i. Has the independent contractor trained or
drilled its employees in their responsibili-
ties to the institution in an emergency?
2.
Workers' Compensation
. State workers'-
compensation laws could be implicated if an
employee contracts an illness on the job during
the course of a public health emergency. This
1.
General Considerations
. In developing an
emergency management plan, organizations
should consider
the following personnel-
related issues.
a. Have the institution's employees received
materials and training on the development
of personal emergency plans for them-
selves and their families? Do employees'
families understand that, in an emergency,
their personal emergency plans may need
to be initiated without the employees (or
with them only calling into a designated
contact), as they may be required to stay
at the facility and assist in the facility's
response? Do they have enough informa-
tion about family emergency plans to feel
confident that their family will be safe
during the emergency so they can focus on
their responsibilities?
b. Has the institution identified multiple safe
staging areas for groups of employees,
outside of the primary emergency-response
areas, so that they can be assigned as
needed? Have the locations of the staging
areas been communicated to employees?
c. Does the institution have a mechanism that
ensures that employees are only released
to return home if they are not needed, and
if the institution believes that the employee
may safely leave the premises? Has the
institution developed mechanisms that will
enable it to learn of unsafe conditions that
would interfere with employees and others
25
See generally
42 U.S.C. ยง 1983 (2004).
