Development of an evacuation policy at a healthcare facility

An Evacuation Policy is a procedure and plan that is needed for a healthcare facility to ensure the safety of patients, families, and the staff in the event of an Emergent or Non-Emergent Evacuation. While disasters are unplanned, a procedure of any caliber can be used to maximize resources and abilities of a healthcare facility. An Evacuation Policy is the designated policy and procedure for a partial or complete evacuation of a hospital or clinic.  During an evacuation, the organization and coordination of the evacuation policy are at top priority for the successful and safe relocation of patients, families, and staff. Without an effective policy, there would be an increased risk of chaos due to uncoordinated staff and patient movement. This paper proposes an efficient evacuation plan to ensure patients are evacuated in a smooth manner on and between floors. This proposed plan is based on four fundamental principles: staff hierarchy, universal patient triaging, patient movement procedure, and end point locations. Using these four principles, an efficient flow will be created for moving patients between the affected area and the safe end point. Evacuation plans are necessary for any emergency when mass coordinated patient and staff movement to safety is required.