Resilient Hospitals Handbook
A number of high-impact threats to critical infrastructure can result in a regional or nationwide months-long power outage, making it unlikely for timely outside help to arrive. Hospitals are encouraged to gain the capacity to make and store enough power on-site to operate in island mode indefinitely without outside sources of power or fuel and protect on-site capabilities from threats that could impact regional commercial power systems. This handbook outlines challenges and opportunities to solve these problems so hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other resources might become more resilient.
Excerpts:
“This handbook is not particularly focused on cybercrime, hacking, or cyberterrorism except as it relates to threats against the power grid. It will, however, address other scenarios that are typically beyond the scope of The Joint Commission Organization review or a typical hazard vulnerability analysis. It is also not intended to be an exhaustive source of references on the subject of hospitals and disasters, nor will this handbook specifically address all requirements of the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Emergency Preparedness Rule.
The handbook does, however, function as a checklist with a set of questions for the reader to address well before a disaster. The primary question is how to create, store, and use the power necessary to maintain essential functions and life safety for the hospital facility, which may be required to thrive and provide a surge of additional services in such a disaster.”
“Focusing on an EMP is useful for a number of reasons. First, it can occur in more ways than most people are aware, and some EMP events can create the most widespread and long-term impacts to critical infrastructure such as power and water. Second, there are proven ways to address EMP through island-mode operation, which provides a helpful resilience model for facility owners and hospital managers.”
“Both non-nuclear and nuclear EMP could disrupt or damage power generating stations, SCADA devices, computer equipment, and telecommunications networks. The proven ways to protect facilities from EMP include resilience of local facilities to operate in island-mode through the initial attack and until recovery is complete.”