Prepping for problems — big and small
Nous sommes prêts. We are prepared.
While this just happens to be the motto for graduates of Simon Fraser University, it’s also words to live by for Coastal’s Health Emergency Management BC team as they continue preparing teams at facilities in all of our operating communities in case of a variety of emergencies.
On top of the ongoing training sessions being offered, HEMBC Acute Emergency Management Coordinator Samantha Wilbur has also organized site-specific Emergency Management Committees (EMC) in the following communities:
- Bella Coola and Bella Bella
- Powell River
- North Shore
- Sunshine Coast (previously established)
“Each of the committees are at different points in their preparedness,” says Samantha, “but they’re all working on items that are important to us being ready to care for patients, staff and physicians in the case of a variety of problems.”
High on the list of each group is plans for dealing with each of the major emergency events, known in the field as “code activations”. While some of the codes are more clinical – for example a Code Blue for a cardiac arrest – many of the others are more operational but can have significant effects on clinical care.
“Events like a system outage – Code Grey – or a Disaster/Mass Casualty Incident – Code Orange – are extremely important to be ready for,” says Samantha. “Our committees in each of the regions will be identifying the people needed to respond to these types of events and then working with them on a regular basis to practice the appropriate response.”
To get involved in your local Emergency Management Committee, contact Samantha at Samantha.wilbur@vch.ca
For more information on the list of codes, go to http://vch-connect/programs/healthemergency/Pages/default.aspx