Every hospitals must have a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment tool.
Hospitals must be prepared for every emergency when they consider the safety of the patients and staff. There are many threats that could arise at a moments notice, and lives are at stake if the hospital staff is slow to respond. Because of these facts, hospital officials develop Hospital Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) tools.
Definition
A Hazard Vulnerability Assessment tool is a detailed analysis of all possible catastrophic events that could occur in or near a certain hospital's location and an inquisition into the possible contingency plans in the event that each catastrophe occurs. It is designed to identify and assess hazards to which the hospital is ill-prepared to respond and strengthen these weak areas.
Possible Hazards
There are many hazards that a hospital may face, but among the most potentially disastrous are bomb threats or terrorist attack; serious fire (requiring assistance from the local fire department and evacuation); floods, tornadoes or other serious thunderstorm activity; winter weather (including blizzards, ice or snow storms, freezing temperatures); and blackouts. Other possible hazards include workplace violence, HVAC failure, water service interruption, phone and Internet failure, medical gas failure and disease/infection outbreak.
Probability and Response
Hospitals have to consider the probability of each hazard occurring and determine the most appropriate response. Administrators should assess probability based on the known risk, historical information and statistics. Certain hazards are highly unlikely for hospitals in certain areas and should, thereby, be given less of a priority. For instance, a blizzard is an unlikely hazard for a hospital in Miami, but a thunderstorm is a serious and more likely threat. Hospital officials must develop the most efficient and cost-effective response that would protect the greatest number of patients.
Impacts
Hospitals must consider three primary categories of impact for each hazard: the human impact, property impact and business impact. Human impact, which is of course most important, is the measure of potential staff and patient deaths and injuries. Property impact encompasses time and cost to replace or repair infrastructure and the time and cost to provide temporary solutions. Business impact includes many areas, but mainly the effects on workers, administrators, suppliers, future patients, legal costs and future reputation.
Using HVA Tools
The HVA tool is usually a detailed document or set of documents created by the hospital. The administrators must analyze the hazards, probability and impacts all together. Creating a grid or other heuristic is useful. Also, the hospital may want to hire an outside contractor to perform a hazard vulnerability assessment.
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