Emergency Preparedness 3:
Hazard Vulnerability Analysis Portal
A Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (or risk assessment) is an objective assessment of the chance of loss or adverse consequences when physical and social elements are exposed to potentially harmful natural and technological hazards. The endpoints or consequences depend on the hazard and include damage, loss of economic value, loss of function, loss of natural resources, loss of ecological systems, environmental impact, deterioration of health, and morbidity and mortality. Risk assessments integrate hazard assessments with the vulnerability of the exposed elements at risk to seek reliable answers to the following questions:
- What can happen?
- How likely is each possible outcome?
- When the possible outcome happens, what are likely consequences and losses?
This allows for the development of an all hazards, comprehensive approach to enable the hospital to be prepared to manage a number or type of emergencies. This approach facilitates mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery based on a broad scope of what could happen within a hospital or a community.
To achieve an all-hazards approach, those assigned the task of revising or developing a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan should understand the extent of the organization’s vulnerabilities and associated risks. This is accomplished through conducting a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, which in turn allows organizations to be flexible in responding to emergencies of all types. This can be a laborious and complicated task for individuals who have not received advice on what tools to utilize and instruction on how to efficiently and effectively conduct a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis. To ease this stress and accelerate the process, organizations should proactively involve emergency managers from within their communities. Often emergency managers and their staffs have experience and skills that facilitate a rapid assessment. They have likely already completed a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis for those external emergencies with their community that may impact the hospital. They can also be extremely helpful in assessing the internal hazards and vulnerabilities of the hospital.
Following completion of the Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, a list of potential hazards will expose those events that merit the most attention, whether because of probability of occurrence, impact on the organization, or lack of preparedness. The organization’s administration and legal counsel must review the completed list of potential hazards. They should determine what steps to take to further bolster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, or address the organization’s acceptance of risk as implied in the Hazard Vulnerability Analysis.1
A healthcare-specific Hazard Vulnerability Tool/Form can be accessed
on the Emergency Preparedness website of the California Hospital Association via this link: http://www.calhospitalprepare.org/category/content-area/planning-topics/healthcare-emergency-management/
hazard-vulnerability-analysis
Reference
- Guide to Emergency Management; Planning in Health Care. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization, 2002.