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Emergency Department

Disaster Preparedness

Emergency Management/Disaster Preparedness

The purpose of the Emergency Management Mitigation and Disaster Preparedness Plan is to provide the hospital and the community with an effective and efficient emergency management operation which, when applied, will provide the levels of readiness, protection and care needed for citizens of the community.To accomplish this, the hospital conducts a hazard vulnerability analysis to identify potential emergencies that could affect the need for its services or its ability to provide those services.

The hospital established the following with the community:

Priorities among the potential emergencies identified in the hazard vulnerability analysis
The hospital’s role in relation to a community wide emergency management program
An “all-hazards” command structure within the hospital that links with the community’s command structure

Disaster Management
Catholic Medical Center has worked hard to develop and implement an emergency preparedness plan that will lead to an effective, efficient response to the needs of the community if an emergency, epidemic or disaster were to take place. We have an emergency preparedness team that participates in regular meetings, exercises and drills to prepare the committee members and the hospital community for potential emergencies, epidemics and disasters.

Catholic Medical Center understands the importance of emergency preparedness and works to constantly improve its plan and course of action in order to serve the greater Manchester community in the case of emergency.

When disaster strikes, the community counts upon Catholic Medical Center to react in an organized and effective manner.This type of reaction depends to a large extent upon two main factors.First, Catholic Medical Center has a thorough and yet flexible plan for taking care of disaster victims from either inside or outside the facility and; second, employees who are assigned responsibilities under the Emergency Management Mitigation and Disaster Preparedness Plan are acquainted with how the plan functions and exactly what their jobs will be in the event of a disaster.

CMC’s Emergency Management Mitigation and Disaster Preparedness Plan is based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS)*. The plan gives a general overview of hospital operations under emergency conditions.The Emergency Management Plan is developed in collaboration with hospital leaders and members of the medical staff.Key personnel have a thorough working knowledge of the plan and insure the specifics concerning their respective departments are communicated appropriately.

The documented management/disaster plan includes the organization's processes for:

Establishing, supporting and maintaining an emergency management program.
Implementing specific procedures in response to a variety of disasters.
Defining and integrating the organization's role with community-wide emergency management efforts.
Notifying proper authorities outside the organization of an emergency.
Notifying personnel of an implementation of the emergency management plan.
Defining alternate roles and responsibilities of personnel during disasters and emergencies.
Assigning available personnel to reflect current staffing patterns.
Managing space, supplies and security.
Providing an emergency communication system during disasters.
Providing an identified alternative source for essential utilities.
Evacuating the total facility, horizontally and vertically, and establishing an alternate care site if the organization's environment cannot continue to support adequate patient care and treatment.
Identifying available facilities for radioactive or chemical isolation and decontamination.
Managing patients during disasters or emergencies including scheduling, modification or discontinuation of services, control of patient information, admission, transfer and discharge.
Requiring an annual evaluation of the objectives, scope, performance and effectiveness of the documented emergency management plan.
Maintaining competency records of staff training.

All Disaster Management Team managers are educated on the plan.Education addresses:

Specific information detailing roles and responsibilities.
Information and skills needed to perform required duties of the Emergency Management Plan.
The organization's contingent method of communication during disasters and emergencies.
The method of obtaining supplies and equipment during disasters or emergencies.

Catholic Medical Center has established performance standards that assist emergency management programs in effectively responding to disasters and significant emergencies occurring in the environment of care.These performance standards include:

Staff knowledge and skill requirements regarding their role in the emergency management program and their expected level of participation.
Monitoring and inspection activities.
Routine emergency and incident reporting procedures including when and to who reports are communicated.
Inspection, preventive maintenance and testing of applicable equipment.
Use of space and replenishment of supplies.
Management of staff.

The organization implements the Emergency Management Plan semiannually, either in response to an emergency or in a planned drill activity. Organizations that offer emergency services or are designated as disaster receiving stations have at least one implementation per year that includes an influx of volunteer or simulated patients.

Drills are conducted at least four months apart and no more than eight months apart.
The hospital participates in at least one community-wide practice drill a year relevant to the priority emergencies identified in its hazard vulnerability analysis. The drill assesses the communication, coordination, and effectiveness of the hospital and community’s command structures.
All drills are critiqued to identify deficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

CMC implements the documented management plan(s) and performance standards for emergency management, as required by JCAHO Emergency Management Standards, and those of the New Hampshire Hospital Association Disaster Management requirements.

Proof of Excellence

CMC and our staff have earned the following awards.

Award		Award Description

		CMC Receives Full Accreditation for 3 Years with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is a nationally recognized multidisciplinary accreditation program. By working with its national partners, the CoC has developed comprehensive, patient-centered standards for cancer programs.

		2013: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire has designated Catholic Medical Center as a Blue Distinction® Center for Spine Surgery(SM). Blue Distinction® Centers are hospitals recognized for their expertise in delivering specialty care. For more information please visit http://www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.*

		2013: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire has designated Catholic Medical Center as a Blue Distinction® Center for Knee and Hip Replacement (SM). Blue Distinction® Centers are hospitals recognized for their expertise in delivering specialty care. For more information please visit http://www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction .*


		America's 100 Best Hospital for Cardiac Care and Coronary Intervention. The New England Heart Institute at Catholic Medical Center delivers patient results that meet high standards and criteria for cardiac excellence. Source: HealthGrades, a national leader for physician information and hospital quality ratings. HealthGrades analyzes data from all of the nation's 5,000 non-federal hospitals, and its free website is searched by 200 million healthcare consumers a year.

		First hospital in the state to perform a mechanical heart/left ventricular assist device implant.

		First hospital in the state for neonatal unit based on "couplet care, a philosophy and care model that keeps mother and baby together in large nurturing suites and state-of-the-art monitoring technologies.

		Top 10% in the nation for patient satisfaction. Determined by the analysis of survey data from 3,837 U.S. hospitals. Awarded hospitals must meet bed size, survey response size and clinical quality thresholds in order to be eligible for the award. Source: HealthGrades, a national leader for physician information and hospital quality ratings. HealthGrades analyzes data from all of the nation's 5,000 non-federal hospitals, and its free website is searched by 200 million healthcare consumers a year.

		Bariatric Center of Excellence designation for Obesity Treatment Center

		‘Top Performer on Key Quality Measures™’ Recognition from The Joint Commission CMC was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia, and Surgical Care.

		Catholic Medical Center receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes CMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

		CMC receives a 3 star rating by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has developed a comprehensive rating system for the quality of cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country. Approximately 12-15% of hospitals received the 3 star rating which denotes the highest category of care. Since January 2010 the cardiac surgery performance of our hospital was found to lie in the highest quality tier, thereby receiving an STS 3 star rating.

		Named to Harvard Pilgrim's 2012 Hospital Honor Roll The Hospital Honor Roll names those hospitals whose performance was among the top 25% of those measured nationally on a set of composite quality metrics. The metrics evaluate clinical process of care, patient experience and patient safety and are based on CMC Hospital Compare and Leapfrog data.

^{*Blue Distinction® Centers met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. Blue Distinction® Centers+ also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Individual outcomes may vary. National criteria is displayed on www.bcbs.com. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area. To find out which services and providers (including hospital based physicians) are covered under your policy, or to learn about Local Blue Plan Criteria, contact your Local Blue Plan; and contact your provider before making an appointment to verify its current Network and Blue Distinction Centers status. Each hospital’s Cost Index is calculated separately, based on data from its Local Blue Plan. Hospitals in portions of CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in areas served by two Local Blue Plans, resulting in two Cost Index figures; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether all hospitals in these areas must meet Blue Distinction Centers+ national criteria for one or both Cost Index figures. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for damages, losses, or non-covered charges resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. To find out more, contact your Local Blue Plan.}