Navigating healthcare emergency preparedness: Insights from ScionHealth

This content was originally presented on a webinar in partnership with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

In an era of increasing natural disasters and unforeseen crises, emergency preparedness is more critical than ever for health systems. Emergency preparedness in healthcare is a comprehensive, proactive approach that encompasses every aspect of an organization's response to potential crises.

To explore effective strategies for healthcare leaders and a real-world case study, we sat down with Tony Dickamore, Vice President of Facilities Management and Construction at ScionHealth and Chris Smith, Account Director at JLL for an in-depth discussion on this critical topic.

Q: What does Emergency Preparedness mean to ScionHealth? What are some of the primary components of ScionHealth’s Emergency Preparedness Response Plan (EPRP)?

Tony: At ScionHealth, emergency preparedness is a comprehensive approach that starts with our annual Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA). Each year, our hospital leadership teams, including facilities management, assess and prioritize our greatest risks. We then create detailed plans around the top priority items and conduct drills based on these scenarios.

Key components of our EPRP include:

1. HVA to identify and prioritize risks

2. Detailed action plans for top priority scenarios

3. Mock drills and real-world practice

4. Compliance checklists and required records

5. Post-incident assessments to improve our plans

We also ensure tight integration with all partners including vendors, the JLL team and local authorities to maintain clear communication with site leaders as well as hospital leadership about status updates and our buildings' capabilities during potential disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. These relationships also allow us to coordinate resources quickly and more effectively during crises.

Q: How have you seen emergency preparedness in action in recent years?

Tony: In 2024, we faced significant challenges with two hurricanes hitting Florida within an 2-week span, really putting our emergency preparedness plans to the test. We implemented detailed hurricane preparedness checklists for each potentially affected site and ensured teams were ready through mock drills.

For two of our hospitals closest to the water, we had to conduct mandatory evacuations—a major undertaking we've only had to do once before in the past 12 years. This involved coordinating with the Florida state government to secure ambulances and safely move all patients in both hospitals—plus the necessary equipment, food, linens, medication and additional supplies—to other facilities.

Chris: As ScionHealth’s facilities partner, the organization’s clear plan made an enormous difference and guided our teams through the entire process of evacuation to sheltering in place, riding out the storms, assessing damage and ultimately moving patients back into the hospitals once it was safe.

During the second hurricane, we faced a critical fuel shortage and team members were struggling to find enough gasoline to commute to work. I worked closely with our sourcing team and regional facility managers to rapidly locate a fuel source and within just 2-3 hours, we had a proposal ready for system approval to secure a 1000-gallon tanker.

We strategically placed the tanker at our least impacted location in Central Tampa, allowing critical employees to access fuel and ultimately positively impacting patients. The speed of our response was possible thanks to the clear communication protocols and emergency preparedness plans we had in place with ScionHealth from the start.

Q: How do you ensure staff across all facilities are adequately trained and informed about emergency protocols? What are the most effective communication strategies?

Chris: Creating and maintaining open lines of communication between all teams is the first step. From local staff to senior leadership, ScionHealth does a great job of communicating to every team that could be impacted by a potential emergency. The most effective strategies I’ve seen employed include regular training sessions and mock survey drills, regional leadership planning calls and clear communication protocols that allow for quick decision-making in emergencies.

Tony: In addition to clear communication, continuous improvement and learning from every emergency we face is critical. After each incident, we conduct thorough evaluations to identify lessons learned and use these insights to bolster our planning, checklists, and practices.

Q: Having a plan for post-event recovery is a critical component of emergency preparedness. How did ScionHealth’s plan impact post-event recovery?

Tony: Post-event recovery is often overlooked but absolutely crucial. We have a detailed checklist and process for getting our facilities back up and running, and patients safely returned, that is reviewed before a potential emergency. It includes:

1. Clear criteria for assessing when it's safe to reoccupy a facility

2. Procedures for coordinating with state agencies to get approval for reopening

3. Checklists for ensuring all systems are functional before bringing patients back

4. Protocols for coordinating patient transportation back to the facility

Having these elements in place allowed us to efficiently assess, repair, and reopen our facilities after the hurricanes, minimizing disruption to patient care.

Q: What would you say is the most important best practice or lesson learned from past emergencies that can benefit other healthcare organizations?

Tony: Proactive communication between facility management teams and hospital leadership is essential. Ensure your hospital leaders fully understand what your buildings are capable of handling during various emergency scenarios. This knowledge can make the difference between unnecessary evacuation and safely sheltering in place, ultimately impacting patient care and safety.

Partnering with facility management experts like JLL enables our organization to not only craft an effective and comprehensive emergency preparedness plan but also refine and enhance our response capabilities through continuous improvement. We don't view them as separate from us, but as an extension of our team, ensuring seamless communication and coordination that serves us well not just during crises, but in our routine facilities management and ongoing planning.

Effective emergency preparedness requires a multifaceted approach that combines proactive planning, continuous improvement and strong partnerships. Just like ScionHealth, cultivating a culture of honest assessment and continuous learning can ensure your health system and facilities are prepared for emergencies now and in the future. Ultimately, a robust emergency preparedness plan is not just about protecting assets or maintaining operations—it's about ensuring the safety and wellbeing of patients and employees.