Emergency Plan Manual

The Business Continuity Plan (Addendum to Agency’s Emergency Plan) A business continuity plan will enable our Agency to plan for continuing operations after a disaster. This tool differs from the other emergency preparedness tools in the Agency’s Manual in that it addresses recovery rather than response. The tool is designed to address all aspects of business operations that might be impacted regardless of whether the event results in a minor disruption of services or a complete destruction of the organization’s infrastructure. For our home care agencies, business continuity plans will need to revolve around the ability to maintain adequate staff and remain solvent. Train and Drill: Staff has to know what to do. A disaster preparedness and recovery plan should include employee training. It should address general training for all employees, including: - individual roles and responsibilities (Emergency Management Plan Manual) - information about threats, hazards, and protective actions (Emergency Management Plan Manual) - notification, warning and communications procedures (Emergency Management Plan Manual) - means for locating family members (Emergency Management Plan Manual) - emergency response procedures (Emergency Management Plan Manual) - evacuation, shelter, and accountability procedures (Emergency Management Plan Manual) Build emergency preparedness into the culture of our Agency. Orientation sessions for new employees should include an overview of the contents of the Emergency Preparedness Manual. Consider what could happen as a result of more common issues: a computer crash; prohibited access to your office; loss of electricity; ruptured gas mains; water damage; smoke damage; structural damage; air or water contamination; building collapse; trapped persons; chemical release. Four different scenarios that we need to plan for, regardless of the catastrophe or interruption: 1. Only our local office in the building is unusable. For example, one or more offices in our space become temporarily unusable because of a flood. Some contents and material may be recoverable, some may not be. 2. The entire building is gone. For example, a fire destroys the structure and its contents. 3. A temporary disruption of services, such as an electricity outage. 4. An impact in the large geographic area, rendering the area uninhabitable for an unknown amount of time.