NASHVILLE—Neighborhood Health, a non-profit network of 11 Neighborhood Health centers in and around Nashville and Lebanon, has announced the start of construction on renovations to its Eastside Clinic in East Nashville.

In March 2020, the clinic was hit by an EF-3 strength tornado that was fueled by winds of over 160 miles per hour. The roof was ripped off and the entire building flooded. Damage to the clinic displaced its more than 8,100 patients, all of whom had to be seen at one of the other ten clinics. The building’s shell remained empty until renovations began.

The restored 12,000-square-foot building will feature a two-story lobby with stairs, an elevator and a small waiting area. The clinic will have a large patient waiting area and a children’s play nook. Nine exam rooms will be divided into pediatrics, general practice and women’s health, with rooms for labs, vitals and a centrally located nurses’ station. Separate check-in and checkout areas are included in the design to improve patient and visitor flow. There will also be offices for providers, special services and behavioral health.

“We have proudly served the people of Middle Tennessee for more than 44 years without regard to their insurance status or ability to pay,” said Brian Haile, CEO of Neighborhood Health. “Renovating and reopening our East Nashville clinic will allow us to continue advancing our mission and reputation as the largest safety net provider of primary care in Middle Tennessee.”

The clinic renovation is led by IKON Construction, Inc., working in partnership with architectural firm Wold | HFR Design, to redesign the clinic and ensure it meets the community’s needs.

“We’re excited to break ground on this clinic, which is needed now more than ever,” said Dave LeFeve, President and CEO of IKON Construction, Inc. “The renovated facility will bring the community back together with new renovations to the existing site.”

“It’s an honor to work with IKON Construction, Inc. on this important project in our community,” said Ron Franks, principal at Wold | HFR Design. “Our firm prioritizes projects that improve the lives of those in the communities we serve, and we look forward to the renovated clinic serving East Nashville residents for many years to come.”

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Tornado season takes place from February to March in the South and April to June in the Plains and Midwest. It is an annual occurrence that healthcare facilities must be protected against and prepared for, as the results could be catastrophic to your patients, staff and infrastructure. While 2021’s tornado season was billed to be unpredictable, April saw a below average numbers of tornados – the lowest this century – while May only had an outbreak of weaker, smaller tornadoes.

But not all years will be like the tornado season of 2021. Though we’re almost in the clear this year, it’s never too early to start preparing for next year, as a thorough emergency preparedness plan takes a good deal of time, effort and talent.

Learn the three steps healthcare facilities should take now to ensure staff can act quickly during the next tornado season – a time when every second counts.

Prepare your staff

The first thing you can do to prepare your facility is to make sure your associates are prepared – not just at your facility, but in their own lives. Provide your employees with personal emergency response plans that they can share with their families, friends and neighbors to bring them peace of mind during a disaster, so they can maintain focus on taking care of patients.

This Safety and Emergency Toolkit (SET) should include an emergency supply checklist with items such as flashlights, extra clothes, whistles, important paperwork, first aid kit, water (one gallon per person per day, three-day supply), maps, hygiene products, warm blankets (one per person) and more. These plans can be used not just for tornado season, but for hurricanes, snowstorms, fires and even biological exposure. Add these emergency-specific points to review so families and friends are prepared for an array of emergencies.

For tornadoes, include the following:

• Keep a list of outdoor items that must be secured in high wind conditions.
• Listen to the radio or TV for information.
• Unless told to evacuate, stay indoors, below ground if possible, and keep away from windows and glass.
• Close interior doors, brace exterior doors and keep blinds closed.
• Take refuge in a small interior room, closet or hallway on the lowest level.
• Lie on the floor or under a sturdy object such as a table, to protect from falling debris.

Finally, ensure your team frequently updates a phone list in the plan with emergency family, school or work contacts. Have them practice their SET plan with their loved ones to make sure it works and that every person understands their responsibilities. When you put your associates first, and ensure they know their families are safe in an emergency, they can then properly care for the patients that need it most.

Create an all-hazards plan

The all-hazards plan is the foundation of how your facility can respond in an emergency. Emergency Management is a multi-disciplinary effort, and an emergency management team’s strength is in the ability to help a facility through coordinating responses, following procedures and maintaining safety for all. Different from a hurricane, tornadoes are an acute event, meaning there isn’t much time between knowing that a tornado is imminent and bracing for impact.

Plans must be specific to your facility’s size, shape and location, its unique risks and your local response organizations that may assist in a crisis. Items should include pre-impact actions, safe shelter locations, accountability procedures, horizontal and vertical evacuation, building damage assessments and plans for communication. Communication must be clear, accurate and rapid in order to be effective – skip the code blues and use plain language when relaying important information to patients, staff and visitors. Depending on the community, information may need to be repeated in different languages. Also ensure the facility is prepped with communication alternatives such as satellite phones, HAM radios and mass notification systems should infrastructure become damaged. Strongly consider partnering with a national communications program to help your facility one step further. As cell phone lines become clogged up mid-disaster, these national programs can operate on a separate band and can provide mobile hotspots with cellular data so that communication is quickly restored. Once plans are in place, schedule regular training to ensure the plan is followed and updated so that emergency preparedness always remains top-of-mind.

Understand your facility’s vulnerabilities

Now is the time to also conduct a hazard vulnerability assessment throughout your facility to determine where issues could arise and what areas are safe. For states with a higher risk of tornadoes, there should be a hardened exterior structure in place with sturdier windows, safer interior rooms, and garage door entrances for emergency departments and vehicles. Your tornado plan should also include contingencies on what’s happening on top or outside of your facility due to construction, outdoor work, etc. These will need to be considered when/if a tornado occurs. Additionally, know exactly where your emergency supplies are located and how they can be accessed in case of disaster. During the 2011 Joplin, Missouri, tornado, a local hospital was unable to access their disaster equipment, as it was stored in a single location that became inaccessible due to damage.

A tornado can wreak havoc in an instant, and if your healthcare facility is ill-equipped or underprepared next year, the consequences can be fatal. Your facility team can’t have a muscle memory response if you haven’t thought about it. When a tornado goes from watch to warning, will your facility be ready?

Scott Cormier is the Vice President of Emergency Management, Environment of Care (EOC) and Safety at Medxcel; he leads the development and implementation of emergency management, general safety and accident-prevention programs for a national network of hospitals that Medxcel serves.

The post Equip Your Healthcare Facility for Next Year’s Tornado Season appeared first on HCO News.

INDIANAPOLIS — Hospitals are commonly regarded as a safe place among patients and caregivers, where services never cease, and staff is continuously effective — but what happens when disaster strikes? Hospitals are needed to operate under standard-to-severe conditions, maintaining quality care and protection for patients, visitors and associates alike in the event of a natural disaster.

According to Scott Cormier, vice president of emergency management, environment of care, and safety at Medxcel, weather-related catastrophes are responsible for nearly 500 deaths and $15 billion in damages. In his recent publication, Cormier focuses on tornadoes in particular, which typically occur during the months of spring and summer. As hospitals stand as a crucial asset in the response and recovery of a community following a disaster, it’s imperative that these facilities are prepared and protected. Cormier explained how a hospital can prepare and protect during the event of a tornado by following three separate steps. These steps comprise implementing a comprehensive emergency management plan, developing communication infrastructure and following the plan.

In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services updated emergency management requirements for 17 providers and suppliers of healthcare including hospitals, long term care, home health, and outpatient services. Through this, Medicare and Medicaid providers are required to create comprehensive emergency management plans in place that account for their patients, associates, and communities for all natural, man-made and technological disasters.

If a facility is determined unsafe, the hospital must work with local emergency management and public safety agencies, as well as contracted partners, to evacuate the facility.

There are three methods of evacuation: horizontal (moving patients from one side of a building to another that is safer), vertical (evacuating a floor of the hospital to another floor), and total (evacuating the entire facility.  Each department should have a specific evacuation plan that considers the type of patient being evacuated, such as a newborn, critical care patient, or patients attached to specialized equipment. The Hospital Command Center coordinates the evacuation, connecting patients with transport assets and open beds at other facilities, while patients are transported from their rooms to a staging area, and those patients that require rapid transportation are evacuated first, while making sure to provide the patient’s chart for any specialized medications so they can continue care.

Tornado safety features include special windows to withstand flying debris, underground wiring to prevent power outages, and a reinforced roof. For existing structures, the facility team should create safe zones characterized as windowless, reinforced rooms placed throughout the facility where staff, visitors, and patients can shelter during a tornado. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a grant program called the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, in which healthcare facilities can partner with local and state governments to apply for safe room grants.

Cormier urges hospitals to create a plan that reinforces areas to make the building safer, stating it should be a part of a multi-year capital improvement program. Further protections include investing in warning equipment like weather alert systems, and subscribing to a private meteorological service that has the exact coordinates of hospitals to receive specific forecasts and warnings based upon those locations, which is more accurate than the general warnings broadcasted in the media. It is also vital to train staff on how to react during a tornado watch and warning, which includes preparation of patients and visitors, keeping emergency equipment accessible in all areas of the facility, and having a checklist to quickly determine if the building is safe to stay after the tornado passes. Finally, confirming memorandums of understanding (MOU’s) for staffing, transportation and evacuation sites are up to date.

“Since tornadoes appear with little warning, unlike hurricanes, there is little that can be done when a tornado warning is issued. Natural disasters are one of the top hazards a healthcare facility will face, so it makes sense that they invest in preparation, response, and recovery supplies and equipment,” said Cormier. “If you are in a tornado risk area, it’s important you understand your facility, your vulnerabilities, and where safe areas are located in the building.”

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