The U.S. healthcare sector – while ready for small mass injury/illness events – is still unprepared for major disasters, according to a new report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. But connecting community efforts could change all that.

The report, A Framework for Healthcare Disaster Resilience: A View to the Future, released at the National Press Club on Feb. 22, encourages development and strengthening existing community coalitions to better prepare for large-scale disasters like hurricanes or pandemics, or complex mass casualty events such as bombings.

The study’s authors identified four categories of disasters where preparedness gabs exist likely because of operational challenges and resource requirements, and offer four recommendations to help close those gaps:

1. Build a culture of resilience – incentivize local grassroots and communications organizations to engage those not traditionally part of health preparedness to become more involved
2. Create a network – Connect large academic medical centers to be sources of real-time clinical expertise and training in their areas
3. Increase support for healthcare coalitions – With additional funding, already successful healthcare coalitions can integrate their disaster resource capabilities and efforts among their partner organizations as well as improve disaster research
4. Designate a federal coordinator for catastrophic events – A designated group within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response could coordinate decentralized preparedness initiatives and strengthen their resilience efforts.

DRI knows the value of improving resilience in the healthcare industry, having awarded its first Hub of Resilience and Resilient Enterprise designations to NYU Langone Medical Center, recognizing the medical institution as a dedicated leader paving the way for resiliency and preparedness within the healthcare community. These designations follow stringent accreditation criterion that identifies core factors of extraordinary commitment and demonstrated capability to advocate for resilience. Organizations seeking accreditation must demonstrate preparedness by contributing personnel, materials, technical, and management advice. Click here to learn more.

DRI’s Healthcare Provider Continuity Professional certifications (AHPCP and CHPCP) are for healthcare professionals that demonstrated knowledge and skill in the business continuity/disaster recovery industry. Such professionals have extensive industry experience as leaders and seek the deserved recognition that comes with certification. To learn how to earn this certification, click here.

DRI’s Healthcare Committee is organizing to identify goals and projects. We hope that the committee may be able to contribute to the art and science of healthcare continuity planning. If you are interested in finding out more about the committee, please contact us at driinfo@drii.org.