Code Chaos: Navigating Unexpected Failures in Emergency Preparedness

Session Description: Code Chaos: Navigating unexpected failures in emergency preparedness.
Imagine receiving the call that your linen supplier's building burned down, or on the drive in to work you hear of an evolving city-wide loss of water.
Most health systems have policies and procedures in place for disasters involving weather or mass-casualty events, and frequently drill for preparedness. But what about loss of key supply chains or infrastructure, especially during an emergency?
These scenarios could occur at any time, but during a natural disaster, when resources and resilience are already stretched thin, their effects are even more disruptive. Failing to ask the thought-provoking question “what if?” can lead to unintended consequences for your health system.
This interactive session will utilize mobile polling to enhance discussion of the consequences of decision making in a disaster situation. By choosing from several proposed scenarios, the group will explore potential unforeseen consequences of each chosen path. Through active collaboration and group problem-solving, participants will learn the importance of identifying resilient team members who can manage unexpected consequences.
At the end of this session, attendees will feel empowered to consider what their facility may not have incorporated into its disaster planning, understand how to maintain team resiliency during snowballing disaster events, and think through the consequences of well-intentioned preparedness plans that could lead to unintended outcomes if not fully understood.