The attached Guidelines for Developing Best Practices to Assist
California Hospitals in Preparing for and Responding to a Water
Disruption may be used for any hospital water disruption planning
activities.
These guidelines were drafted under the CHA Hospital Preparedness
Program with participation from a work group which was comprised
of hospital representatives and state regulatory agencies.
The guidelines address:
Overview of a hospital water disruption
The hospital water supply planning team
Conducting a water use audit
Role of California Regulatory Agencies in a water disruption
Water disruption standards and regulations
Coordinating with the community response to a water
disruption
The guidelines contain links to federal and state references and
include six attachments which provide additional information and
check lists to assist hospitals with water disruption planning
and response.
11/5/2012: The two commodities we need most in a disaster
in order to continue operating is electricity and water.
Water is a basic need that sustains life and in other
applications cooling for computers or people. In hospitals
it is a basic need to eliminate the possibility of infection and
just plain old sanitation.
Sandy has pointed out how when a disaster hits an urban area what
happens when the water and electricity stop flowing.
Several hospitals closed. One for power and the other for a
lack of water. I’m also just guessing the availability of
staff was also an issue since the “normal” commute was out the
window. My nephew who works in Manhattan and lives in the
Brooklyn took a taxi to get to work in the morning, a journey
that took three hours. To get home he waited for a bus and
then ended up walking home, which took four hours…
In order to maintain daily operations and patient care services,
health care facilities need to develop an Emergency Water Supply
Plan (EWSP) to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a total
or partial interruption of the facilities’ normal water supply.
Water supply interruption can be caused by several types of
events such as natural disaster, a failure of the community water
system, construction damage or even an act of terrorism. Because
water supplies can and do fail, it is imperative to understand
and address how patient safety, quality of care, and the
operations of your facility will be impacted.
A health care facility must be able to respond to and recover
from a water supply interruption. A robust EWSP can provide a
road map for response and recovery by providing the guidance to
assess water usage, response capabilities, and water
alternatives.
Water providers and healthcare facilities must work together to
develop effective emergency plans to sustain hospital functions
when water supplies are disrupted.
