My good friend, Mike Semel from Semel Consulting, has put together an amazing business continuity resource for healthcare organizations. Of course, a lot of this applies personally as well as professionally. You should download the full Semel Consulting Disaster Checklist to see how prepared you and your business are for disaster. This resource seemed appropriate as we watch Florida get hit with more tropical storms and hurricanes, wildfires happening in California and disaster after disaster happening around the world with no signs that they’ll be stopping.
Along with the checklist linked above, Mike also included a list of emergency items you can easily order on Amazon (see the list below with links) to make sure you and your healthcare organization are prepared in case of disaster. This is important since the time to prepare for a disaster is now. Once the disaster happens, stores sell out and you can’t get the things you’ll need to ride out the disaster. As an illustration of this, Mike shared his experience during SuperStorm Sandy:
The generator at my NY home burns 7 gallons per day. Before SuperStorm Sandy I bought the last two 5-gallon cans from my local Lowes, to add to the 5 I already had, so I could store 5 days of fuel. I was in line with about 50 people buying generators. I asked them how many gas cans they had at home and how much fuel they could store. Everyone said they had one can – the biggest was 5 gallons – not even enough to fill the generator once! They all wanted to pay me double or triple what the cans I was buying were worth. I didn’t sell.
Note: These are all Prime-Eligible for quick delivery. Click on the link to order.
Now for the list of emergency items on Amazon that Mike suggests you consider as part of your business continuity efforts.
Radio – weather channel, hand-crank, solar charger, flashlight
Batteries – AAA, AA, C-cell, D-Cell (for lanterns and radios), 9 volt, 2032 lithium
115-hour candle – make sure you have matches
LifeStraw – for when the water supply isn’t safe to drink
Water Purification Tablets – for when the water supply isn’t safe to drink
Emergency Food – 18 400-calorie bars – during a disaster you need strength – eat calories!
Emergency Food – 12 meals – 3 days
Emergency Food – 30 days – good for businesses; preparation for sheltering-in-place
Toilet Paper – you won’t laugh when you are the only one in the shelter who thought ahead!
Gas Cans – Generators use 7 gallons per day if run continuously. Most people have less than 5 gallons for their mower.
Along with the stuff you should buy above, be sure to check out the full Disaster Checklist that covers a number of other things you should do to prepare for a disaster.
What have you done in your practice to prepare for emergencies? Are there other things you’d suggest that aren’t on this list? Let us know in the comments or on social media with @healthcarescene.