Earthquake Actions for Healthcare Facilities

Santa BarbaraCounty

The following checklist is for general guidance following an earthquake. All actions should have as their primary consideration the health and safety of staff, clients, and visitors to you facility.

Initial Earthquake Response (0-12 hours):

  1. Staff and clients:
  2. Duck and Cover under a sturdy desk or table, Hold On as the furniture may move with continued shaking.
  3. If you cannot get under a table, drop to the ground and move to the inside corner of the room, away from objects that could fall on you.
  4. If unable to move to get under furniture cover your head and neck with your hands and arms.
  5. Evacuate staff, patients, and public if necessary (if there is building damage, you smell gas, or there is flooding from broken water pipes). Take cell/satellite phone, disaster procedure book, first aid kit and list of employees/clients.
  6. Account for building occupants. Make a list of all patients/clients and members of the public.
  7. Determine if there is anyone that could be trapped in the building.
  8. Establish command (Person in Charge/Incident Commander) to leadstaff to conduct the following and as organized according to the incident command system.

Command (Person in Charge) “Incident Commander”

  • Establish objectives for your facility or agency. (“Provide safe area for staff and clients” “Determine who is injured and provide care.”)
  • Assign a leader and staff for each of the section tasks listed below.
  • Request Logistics to establish a communication method with your facility’s central administration (cell phone, landline, radio, or runner) and report status.
  • Report status to the Public Health Department. If no communication report status via your local city who will relay a message to the County Emergency OperationCenter.

Operations Section

  • Make sure staff/patients/public are in a safe area.
  • Assign staff to a Triage and Treatment Unit:
  • Triage injured individuals or those who need immediate attention due to their medical condition. Red (immediate attention/transport) Yellow (treatment and transport can be delayed) Green (walking and uninjured/ minor injury)
  • Provide care for patients and staff. Get family members to help if available.
  • Inform Command of number of persons injured and request a call to 911 if needed.
  • Get staff and patients ready to move to another site if necessary/available.
  • Assign staff to a Building Safety Unit:
  • Conduct a basic assessment of building damage from the outside. Use a building assessment form if available to document damage/gas/utility function
  • Determine if there are individuals trapped in the building.
  • Call out as you walk the perimeter of the building and listen for responses from anyone who may remain inside.

Logistics Section

  • Determine if phones are working and provide phone to IC or Operations to call 911 to report trapped individuals and those needing immediate transport to the hospital.
  • If phone service is not available consider transporting patients who need immediate attention in personal cars or sending a runner to the nearest fire station.
  • Establish a communication method with your facility’s central administration (cell phone, landline, radio, or runner). So that command can report status.
  • Locate water/food/medical supplies for staff and patients/clients.

Plans Section

  • Based on information from Operations and Logistics, determine status of building, operations, patients/public.
  • Write up a short status report to be communicated to your facility’s central administration.
  • Per IC instructions communicate your status to the Public Health Department.
  • If no communication available and fire department checks your status ask them to relay a message to EMS/Public Health.
  • Determine if your facility can continue to provide care.
  • Determine if there are healthcare facilities who can provide your clients needed medical care.
  • Determine if there are facilities that could house any residential clients.
  • Determine if your staff are needed to assist at another location.
  • Determine what essential operations you need to conduct.
  • Determine what essential records you need to retrieve if safe to do so.
  • Request building assessment from your city/county. Communicate need for assessment to the Public Health Department so that priority for assessment can be given to your facility if appropriate.

Earthquake Actions: Intermediate (12-36 hours)

Residential Facilities:

  1. If sheltering in place with limited utilities: provide care and continue to assess patients/clients.
  2. Determine alternate locations/services for patients as needed.
  3. Maintain communication of status to Public Health Department Operations Center or city operations center. Contact by phone, radio, runner, or other method.
  4. If unable to contact the PHD communicate via your local city who will relay a message regarding your status to the County Emergency Operation Center.
  5. Request transport to alternate sites as needed.
  6. Determine if you can provide services for shelter for other affected facilities or patients.

Outpatient providers:

  1. If sheltering in place with injured or ill clients: provide care and continue to assess patients/clients.
  2. Implement your continuity of operations plan to assure you can provide or arrange for critical services for patients/clients.
  3. Determine if your facility can continue to provide regular/limited/no services for patients.
  4. Provide PHD with status on your ability to provide services. Ask that this information be publicized with instructions to patients on where to go for urgently needed services.
  5. If unable to contact the PHD communicate via your local city who will relay a message to the CountyEmergencyOperationCenter.

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Earthquake procedure template developed by Santa Barbara PHD for partners 2012.