08-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ramsey County │ Annex B: Protective Actions 13 • Engage with jurisdictions and other partner facilities to streamline, coordinate, and reduce the burden of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restrictions. • Coordinate evacuations with partner facilities that provide similar services and are located outside of the impact zone to transfer patients to open spaces within those partner facilities. Jurisdictions should engage hospitals and residential medical facilities in the planning process to better assess the needs and capabilities of the facilities within the jurisdictions and to coordinate the use and sharing of resources. • Ensure that patients being evacuated have supplies of medical equipment and medicine that can last through transportation to a new facility and until the new facility can complete intake of the patient and properly integrate the patient’s care plan into their system and operation. In instances where these facilities must shelter-in-place, planning for unforeseen threats and hazards is crucial. Hospitals and residential medical facilities should continue to plan and coordinate transportation needs with jurisdictions after shelter-in-place operations end or if subsequent evacuations are needed. Facilities should establish internal plans to care for patients and staff throughout an incident requiring shelter-in-place. These plans should: • Ensure that the facility has sufficient resources such as medical supplies, food, and potable water both for drinking and for procedures such as dialysis as well as sanitation procedures of personnel and equipment. • Assess needs as if they will have no utilities for a minimum of 72 hours. These facilities should ensure that a steady power supply is available, and the appropriate fuel can be obtained to keep the temporary power supply online. Facilities should coordinate with jurisdictions to ensure generators in place are accessible and meet the needs of the facility or that the hospital power infrastructure can be compatible with jurisdiction-provided generators if none are currently in place at the facility. Information about hospitals, health care organizations, and behavioral health, outpatient, and treatment centers that might require additional coordination during an evacuation or shelter-in-place incident can best be obtained through SPRCPH. 3.1.9.6 Non-Resident Populations When an evacuation can be forecast in advance, the County or municipality may consider the evacuation of non-resident populations (e.g., tourists and business travelers) before the general population to free up hotel space in host jurisdictions. For non-residential populations that are evacuated alongside self-evacuees, a portion will fall into critical transportation populations (those relying on air or rail travel). If unable to evacuate these populations before an incident, impacted jurisdictions should identify this population as non-resident, evacuate them, and advise host jurisdictions to help them coordinate their departure to their home destinations. The inclusion of industry associations, such as visitor bureaus or similar groups, in the planning process can facilitate a smoother process to return non-residents home after an incident if broader travel services are interrupted.