Hurricane Season Brings Problems to Light, but They Won’t Go Away in November

It’s hurricane season. The number of storms forming in the Atlantic and the attention paid to them is drastically different than last year, but the fact is, this is to be expected. From June to November, hurricanes form. We can’t change this, so let’s change our reaction and response to them.

 

The November CMS deadline is rapidly approaching and while it may not be soon enough to prevent catastrophic events from hurricanes, it will make a difference in the future. So how can we learn from the mistakes made this year?

 

The first step is to recognize them. We’ve already talked about how important After Action Reports are when planning for the future. While the recovery and rebuilding process is going to last years, we need to make sure we’re documenting now, before we forget.

 

Hurricane Irma was the first major hurricane to hit Florida since before 2005. Over 65 hurricanes missed the state of Florida between Hurricanes Wilma and Irma. This doesn’t mean that Florida wasn’t prepared in those 12 years. You can’t sit and wait either.

 

Just because hurricane season “starts” in June and “ends” in November doesn’t mean the other months are free and clear. Remember Tropical Storm Ana? She hit near Myrtle Beach on May 10, 2015, becoming the second earliest storm. (The first was unnamed in February of 1952.) And, Pacific Category 4 Hurricane Sandra made landfall in Mexico on November 28, 2015. The belief that hurricane season only falls into this window can be deadly.

 

Evacuations are often necessary but pose their own set of problems. Everyone is playing Monday morning quarterback about why Houston wasn’t evacuated. Equally so, people are frustrated that Floridians evacuated from areas they may not have needed to, flooding the interstates and hoarding gas. With technology, we can see storms coming so far out that we have at least a week to agonize over the decision. As we saw with both Harvey and Irma, things change.

 

This is why having a plan is so important. And a backup plan. And a tertiary plan. Each time you consider a natural disaster impacting your facility, you must look at all of the possible scenarios. You need to consider losing power after the storm for weeks. You need to consider when and where to evacuate, if necessary. You need to consider when you’re going to share that information with your patients and their families.

 

Are you ready to face the next tropical storm? What about winter weather that is coming? Do you need help with your plan?

 

Contact us today for a free CMS Consultation.