Project Details
Delaware State Hospital Evacuation Standard Operating Guideline
Delaware Division of Public Health
Delaware State Hospital Evacuation Standard Operating Guideline
The Challenge
While preparing to conduct a tabletop exercise, the State of Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Public Health Preparedness Section identified areas where the existing draft version of the Delaware State Hospital Evacuation Standard Operating Guideline (SOG) required additional clarification and details based upon previous reviews of the SOG. Due to the experience and quality of Delta’s Disaster Preparedness Solutions (DPS) team, Delaware DPH contracted Delta’s DPS team to review and revise the SOG brief the draft SOG, to all stakeholders, and finalize the document.
The Solution
Delta’s DPS team of multidisciplinary planners met the challenge through application of previous knowledge of Delaware’s capabilities and resources, medical surge operations in healthcare facilities, and the unique attributes of Delaware. Delta’s DPS team – composed of public health, law enforcement, emergency medical service, and emergency management personnel – revised the SOG to be consistent with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: A Guide for All-Hazard Planning, the National Incident Management System, and the Delaware State Emergency Operations Plan. Additionally, the Delta team utilized the Medical Surge Capacity and Capability (MSCC) tiered management system, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to structure the response to a hospital evacuation. The SOG focuses on the coordination of patient movement from the evacuating hospital’s doors to the receiving hospital and is designed for assisting one or multiple hospital evacuations in the state.During the SOG development process, regular consultations with hospitals, DPH emergency planners, and other stakeholders were conducted. At the conclusion of the draft planning process, Delta’s DPS team led a planning workshop for all local, state, regional, and federal stakeholders. Feedback from this workshop was analyzed and integrated into the final SOG.
The Result
The result of this process was an operational SOG that can be readily implemented by stakeholders, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each participating agency.
