By Zachary Seely, CEO, FSI
Each year extreme weather events continue to grow in scale, frequency, and cost, endangering the operations of healthcare systems and their ability to provide safe, reliable care in their communities. It is imperative for hospitals to be able to speedily recover from such events to provide care to those affected by the same emergencies.
Not only do extreme weather events impact a hospital’s ability to deliver care, but weather emergencies can be financially debilitating for hospitals that face damage to infrastructure, equipment, and more. It’s estimated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that 18 separate weather disasters in the U.S. in 2022 each resulted in at least $1 billion in damages.
While disasters of this nature are nearly impossible to predict, it is possible and essential for hospitals to do all they can to plan for such events. It has now become clear that the question is not if your healthcare system may experience a weather-related emergency, but when.
Believe it or not, one of your greatest resources for both emergency preparation and recovery is something your team likely uses everyday: Your CMMS. A work order and asset management system can help you to track down missing assets, provide important information needed to repair damaged equipment, help you prioritize preventative maintenance (PM) in preparation of disaster, and so much more, all leading to better preparation and saving valuable time, money, and resources in dire situations.
By incorporating the best practices below, gain a better understanding of how critical your CMMS is in emergency preparedness and recovery and determine whether your current system has the capabilities to help your healthcare system plan ahead.
Your CMMS During Emergency Preparation
Your essential software tools may not be able to predict the weather or prevent a storm, but the leading healthcare CMMS solutions contain important features to help your operations team stay vigilant and ready should extreme weather hit your area. Adhering to a continuous state of preparation is key and ensuring your system has the features to allow you to maintain the following measures is critical.
An Emphasis On PMs Is Key To Preparation
Preventive maintenance is one of the best ways to prepare for disasters. If your team is able to stay ahead of work orders through PMs, you can ensure all assets and equipment will be in proper working condition should an emergency hit. Knowing that all fire extinguishers will function properly when it matters most, HVAC systems are prepared to handle heat waves, or drainage systems will properly divert heavy rains is the first step to facing many emergencies.
Not all CMMS solutions emphasize PMs in the same way. Having the ability to create custom dashboards to see open PMs on high-risk equipment, evaluate clearcut analytics…