San Joaquin Valley
How Medical Centers Can Participate
Californians must get better prepared before the next big earthquake, and also practice how to protect ourselves when it happens. The purpose of the ShakeOut is to help people and organizations do both.
The boxes below describe how medical centers and other facilities can participate in the ShakeOut. With your participation, this may be the largest earthquake drill ever!
| Not a medical center? |
Which medical centers are participating? |
At Mt. Rubidoux Convalescent Hospital, the facility staff and residents all listened for an alarm to start their 2008 drill. All staff got down, covered and held on, and the residents stayed in their wheelchairs. After 90 seconds, the staff rolled the residents to an open area outside. Although the staff tried to make it a serious event, the residents thought it was fun, and asked if they could do it again tomorrow!
- Encourage your employees to register as individuals or families.
- Display ShakeOut posters in customer areas and on employee bulletin boards. Put ShakeOut flyers at your public counters. Include a flyer in paycheck envelopes, or an article in your newsletter.
- Tell everyone to watch "Preparedness Now", a compelling film that depicts what will happen in a "big one," and other videos.
- Organize a brown bag lunch with your employees to share personal and family preparedness information and discuss what individuals and their families can do to ShakeOut. Have everyone register while at the brown bag, especially those without internet access.
- Encourage your vendors to register and participate in the ShakeOut. Their preparedness affects your organization’s preparedness.
- Today: Register your medical center to be counted in the ShakeOut Drill, get email updates, and more.
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Between now and October 21:
- Consider what may happen in a major earthquake and plan what your organization will do now to get prepared, so that when it happens you will be able to recover quickly.
- Plan your drill using one of the four levels of sample drills in the ShakeOut Drill Manual for Non Profits and Other Organizations (168 KB PDF).
- Secure Your Space: As a special theme for the 2010 ShakeOut, we encourage all Californians to reduce potential damage and injuries by strapping furniture and large appliances to walls, securing TVs and electronics, applying quake putty to small items, and more.
- Download the Audio and Video "Drill Broadcast" recordings that have been created to provide instructions during your drill (Video versions have text captions).
- Talk to other medical centers about what they have done, and encourage them to join you in getting more prepared.
- October 21, 10:21 a.m.:
Conduct your drill. If you did not choose a drill from the ShakeOut Drill Manual for Non Profits and Other Organizations, then follow these simple steps:
- Drop, Cover, and Hold On: Have your staff Drop to the ground, take Cover under a table or desk, and Hold On to it as if a major earthquake were happening (stay down for at least 60 seconds). Practice now so your staff will immediately protect themselves during earthquakes! (See this page for what to do if outside, driving, in a tall building, or other situations. See this page for what to do if you have a disability or an activity limitation.)
- While still under the table, or wherever you are, look around and imagine what would happen in a major earthquake. What would fall on you or others? What would be damaged? What would life be like after? What will you do before the actual earthquake happens to reduce losses and quickly recover?
- Finally, practice what your staff will do after the shaking stops.
- Drop, Cover, and Hold On: Have your staff Drop to the ground, take Cover under a table or desk, and Hold On to it as if a major earthquake were happening (stay down for at least 60 seconds). Practice now so your staff will immediately protect themselves during earthquakes! (See this page for what to do if outside, driving, in a tall building, or other situations. See this page for what to do if you have a disability or an activity limitation.)
What we do now, before the earthquake, will determine what our lives will be like after.
- Have each department do a facility inspection for non-structural items that might fall and be damaged or cause injury and secure them.
- Identify hazards and special needs in each department.
- Develop, review or exercise your business continuity plan with employees to identify and practice their responsibilities.
- Create or review your employee contact lists and communication plan.
- Locate utility shut off valves; make sure employees know the location, procedure and responsibilities.
- Inventory special skills within your organization useful in a disaster (amateur radio operator, search and rescue, etc.)
- Include your critical need vendors in disaster planning. Create post-disaster agreements.
- Organize or refresh your emergency equipment - fire extinguishers, first aid, flashlights, food, crank radios, satellite phones, generator, fuel; make sure employees know the location and how to utilize supplies.
- Be prepared for the possibility that your employees may need to shelter in place for 2 – 3 days.
- Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day.
- What other supplies might you need if transportation routes were blocked and employees or customers needed to remain in your facility for an extended length of time?
- Learn to access and use California Integrated Seismic Network earthquake tools. CISN identifies the strength and location of earthquakes to assist you in making response decisions.
- Promote first responder and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training for your employees.
- Provide non-English speaking employees with written preparedness information in their language.
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