ASHE Webinar Series: Fire Response Case Study: Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Speakers:

Paul D. Ketron, MHA, MDiv, FACHE, CHFM Director – Engineering Services and Building Operations University of Missouri Health Care
Rick Sanders, B.S., CHFM, CHEP / Manager, Engineering & Building Operations, University of Missouri Health Care
David Moore / Supervisor, Engineering Services at Women and Children’s Hospital, University of Missouri Health Care

Description:

On July 29, 2019, a lightning strike sparked a fire in an elevator shaft of MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. The hours, days and weeks that followed provide a case study in the complexities of facility management, the importance of emergency planning, and the resourcefulness of health care teams when their patients' safety is at stake. This presentation will walk listeners through the 46-day ordeal that ensued, covering topics including fire response, emergency planning, incident command, mobilization, clinical management at alternative care sites (including the unique security needs of pediatric patients) and cleanup. This event challenged a robust health care system to its limits, revealing strengths and vulnerabilities, yielding stress and celebration, highlighting the resilience of people and processes, and clearly demonstrating the essential roles of facility management and emergency planning in the optimal delivery of health care.

Learning Objectives: 

• Assess the effectiveness of individual emergency plans by hearing details of an actual event.
• Identify the community resources necessary to engage in advance of an emergency event.
• Explain to hospital personnel the importance of emergency drills and planning.
• Design improved emergency plans, tabletop, and mock events from this real-world account and lessons learned.