“Now” is always the best time to be ready for when disasters hit.

Disasters come in all types and sizes, and in all areas of the world. Some of the greatest lessons learned to date from COVID-19 as well as other disasters, spotlight the paramount importance of planning.

In recent news, 2024 is predicted to be an intensely active hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a range of 17 to 25 total named storms for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, spanning from June 1 to November 30.

That combined with the consistent mutation of COVID-19, upcoming floods, outages, seasonal flu and various other threats, we must always be planning, and work to minimize potential disruptions to patient care, and bolster our ability to protect patients’ lives and our national security.

Planning is central to preparation and success

Planning is foresight. Merely being prepared with money, manpower, or supplies is not enough without the plans in place to know how to leverage them quickly and effectively. In 2019, there were 90 natural disasters in the United States alone.  That’s roughly one disaster every four days. Planning is essential because disasters will always strike.

Here are 5 recommendations from Airon to consider when creating your disaster plan:

1) Always work to be ready

Planning is a 365 day event. Creating “swing teams” can allow for a continual chain of information to flow through the organization. As one team brings information in from the field, front lines or resources, another team extracts the information that may help plan for what will be needed next.

2) Enroll telemedicine

Establish easily accessible channels for telemedicine across all platforms and in remote or dangerous locations. Making telemedicine available during a disaster will allow people to receive the medical advice they need from wherever they are, and free up EMS teams and emergency departments and hospitals to be available for true, life-threatening medical emergencies.

3) Train early, often, and up

Create tiers in your staff and determine who will be trained for what procedures and skills. Some experts recommend training front line staff to expand their skills in their current field to include more advanced procedures than they would normally perform. Through this method of “training up,” clinicians can confidently handle more complicated cases if needed. Doing this kind of training on a planned, proactive and continual basis can build highly nimble and efficient teams.

4) Create pre-scripted messaging

Proactively create messaging on numerous issues related to personal safety and healthcare in multiple languages. This can assist non-English speaking people who may be separated from their families or communities, or end up alone in healthcare institutions without advocates to help them understand information and make decisions. Consider providing this information in a printed format, as well as making it available online and/or through social media.

5) Anticipate diverse patient needs

Your procurement plan should emphasize sourcing equipment that can support diverse patient needs as well as in challenging conditions. Important features to consider include product size and weight, portability, power requirements, therapy adaptability, and required maintenance. Ensure your equipment can accommodate tight spaces, perform where power is not available, and deliver what’s needed to a broad range of patients with minimal adjustments or accessories.

Airon’s pNeuton Model A is a workhorse in the face of any disaster, and can help you care for even the most difficult patients wherever they may be located–even under the harshest conditions. Effective, versatile and reliable, Airon’s unique ventilator technology was chosen by GE Healthcare and Ford for the fight against COVID-19.

Key advantages of Airon’s pNeuton Model A include:

• Fully pneumatic – no need for electricity or batteries lets you always be ready
• Pediatric to adult patient support in ER, MRI, OR, ICU,as well as intra-hospital or air or ground transport
• Invasive or noninvasive ventilation with built-in demand flow PEEP / CPAP
• Volume-targeted or pressure-limited ventilation
• Low patient work of breathing with peak flow up to 140 L/min for spontaneous breaths
• MRI compatible up to 3T
• Small, compact, lightweight, portable, with easy-to-use controls
• Made in the USA

Additional information to help you prepare

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) encourages medical device stakeholders to prepare now, and offers some best practices. You can access the FDA information here.    

If you have manufacturing and quality problems, delays, discontinuances, or interruptions of a medical device, notify the FDA.

If you have questions about hurricane preparedness and medical devices, contact the Division of All Hazards Preparedness and Response. For questions related to supply chain, contact the Office of Supply Chain Resilience.  

Get and stay ahead of whatever may come

Please keep in mind, Airon is here to support your disaster plans and your patient needs. We can help you source what’s needed in the coming months, or for any time.

In business for 30 years, we understand the vital priority of disaster planning, patient safety with ventilatory support, and your need for adequate coverage. To learn more, visit us at www.aironusa.com.