Pragmatism
Those of us beyond a certain age remember “Hill Street Blues,” a fictional police drama. Each episode opened with the grizzled Sergeant Phil Esterhaus outlining the day’s assignments and potential operations. As the group began to disperse he would stop them.
“Hey..Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
With the barrage of mass casualties, both natural and manmade, it seems being careful isn’t enough. Violence can strike at any time, and even with advanced warning, resources after a natural disaster can be overwhelmed. We wonder how to keep ourselves, our families and our loved ones safe. As health care executives, we are responsible for maintaining services, even in the most difficult of circumstances. We balance the need for easy access to our hospitals for patients and families, with the need to prevent unauthorized weapons from entering the facilities. We contemplate how we, as individuals, will respond if confronted with a situation like Las Vegas, Hurricane Maria, the wildfires, or a major earthquake.
As with many aspects of life the keys are preparation and pragmatism:
- First and foremost, take care of your needs and those of your loved ones. You cannot rescue someone else if you have to be rescued. Have an emergency “go bag” that can be grabbed while escaping a wildfire or collapsing home. Assure an adequate supply of water and stable food. Have a solar powered or hand cranked radio. Army Navy Surplus stores are great sources for these supplies.
- Make sure your organization has an updated disaster plan. Besides call trees and cell phone numbers, consider having radios available to key personnel, in case the grid goes down, as it did in Puerto Rico. Run disaster drills and active shooter drills at your institutions at least twice a year. The more often we look fear in the face, the less of a paralyzing effect it has on us.
- Finally, bring your own skills to a new level. The majority of victims that die in the first hour after penetrating or blunt trauma exsanguinate. The American College of Surgeons, in consort with DHS and other agencies has created. www.bleedingcontrol.org, a program similar to CPR, to teach basic techniques of hemorrhage control. Stop the bleeding kits will soon be displayed alongside AEDs in public spaces. Read the information and sign up or host a course in your own workplace.
- And from an altruistic point of view – give blood if you can. HCE is working to bring blood drives throughout our region. Even when we don’t have mass casualties, the need is real and expanding.
At times when things seem to be spinning out of control, calm, pragmatic leaders bring their organizations together and refocus on core values. They are realistic in what they can and cannot control.
And every one of us, whether in a named leadership position or not, has the ability to up our game and deal with the challenges.
I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference on December 7th at the California Endowment.
Harry Sax, MD, FACHE
President
Health Care Executives of Southern California
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