THE BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: EMERGENCY AND MEDIA PREPAREDNESS


identified risk. What can be done to keep the risk from occurring, or at least reduce the severity of impact? As veterinarians desiring to prevent in- jury and illness, you can appreciate that practicing good medicine requires proactive education and prevention programs. Yet sometimes, bad things happen and a response is required. Timely imple- mentation of a good plan, with appropriate re- sources that are well trained and equipped make for better outcomes than a response that does not have good preparedness as its foundation. Once the emergency is over, the phase of recovery begins. Whether rebuilding, healing, or attempting finan- cial recovery, the greatest chance for a successful outcome is accomplished by those who have com- pleted some level of preparation. The fire service does many things well. A pri-


mary reason for this success comes from the practice of operating in organized teams. The foundation of the fire service is a team of two. Two teams make a company of four, which is the preferred staffing on a fire engine. Every firefighter on the engine knows their role, and is cross trained in each other’s role, to provide depth to the team. Companies form Strike Teams and/or Task Forces, which in turn form larger Divisions and/or Groups. For very large in- cidents, another functional organization is a Branch. All of these subdivisions have an assignment, know who they work for and who works for them (Unity of Command), generally limit the number of subordi- nates to five people (span of control), know where they are to work, and how they are to communicate. All of this is managed by one (and only one) Incident Commander. What has just been described is the Incident Command System (ICS). Effective use of ICS comes from the fire service using it every day, on every incident. It is a flexible management model that provides for safety, accountability, and effec- tiveness. The systems approach capitalizes on the strengths of individuals working in teams, and can be applied to any field of business, including veter- inary medicine. It also incorporates specialists, which is another arena veterinarians can expand into. If you anticipate ever operating with emer- gency services, it would be time well spent becoming familiar with the Incident Command System. A good overview of ICS and other preparedness classes can be found on-line at FEMA Emergency Manage- ment Institute’s Independent Study.2 The courses only take several hours to complete and provide the credentials required to work on federal incidents. Regardless of your interest in ICS, emergency pre- paredness still plays an important role in an equine professional’s career.3


Planning


The following is a partial list of emergencies and disasters that could affect a veterinary clinic or their clients, precipitating interaction with emergency services. Determine what risks are probable and which are possible in your geographic area, factor in


452 2014  Vol. 60  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


what the effect would be if they occurred, then pri- oritize which should be mitigated first.


● Clinic, barn, vehicle, home, or wildland fire ● Severe weather: tornado, snow, excessive prolonged heat or cold


● Flood ● Earthquake ● Vehicle, trailer, or entrapment accident: hu- man and animal


● Serious personal injury or sickness ● Pandemic flu outbreak ● Man caused disaster: terrorism, financial system, or supply distribution breakdown


● Extended loss of water, electricity, gas, phone or internet communications.


Mitigation


For every risk identified, first attempt to implement prevention measures to reduce the chance of occur- rence or lessen the severity if it should occur. A cursory look at the above risks could include some very basic remedies as well as some that may re- quire a greater investment of time or financial re- sources. Remember, take care of your own family, home, and business first. By doing so, the veteri- narian becomes a resource to assist others should a disaster occur. Often resolving the simple things (working batteries in flashlights and smoke detec- tors) creates momentum to tackle the bigger issues.


Fire


There is a plethora of information available on how to protect you from fire. Elimination of ignition sources—poor electrical wiring, overloaded circuits, improper storage of combustibles and flammables, and heat from open flame, lights, or equipment—are all easy ways to reduce fire risk. Working smoke detectors wired to provide notification and fire ex- tinguishers in buildings and vehicles can provide early detection and allow for extinguishment when the fire is small. Sprinkler systems provide excel- lent fire protection. The National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 150: Standard on Fire and Life Safety in Animal Housing is the industry stan- dard for fire prevention in these facilities.4 Wild- fire mitigation measures come from effective fuel separation and defensible space around structures as well as eliminating areas where wind blown em- bers could lodge into a combustible void space (Fig. 1). Information on wildfire prevention can be ob- tained from the Firewise website.5


Severe Weather, Floods, and Earthquakes


What type of weather/natural events does the region you live in experience? Minimally, you should be prepared to provide for your own needs for 72 hours with no public utilities. This includes shelter, wa- ter, food, and medical needs for people and animals. Make certain that insurance coverage is in place for any perils you face (Fig. 2).


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