S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3
C
omplying with
CMS's emer-
gency prepared-
ness requirement to pro-
vide shelter in place for
those who'd remain in
our surgery center dur-
ing an emergency was
going to be a tall order to
fill. It's not uncommon
for there to be around
200 patients, providers,
staff and family mem-
bers in our 12-OR multi-
specialty ASC at any
given time. Where would we store all the food and water we'd need to
have on site to shelter a couple hundred people for up to 72 hours?
We found the solution in an unlikely place: the drug store located on
the ground floor of our building (we take up the entire second floor).
The manager of the Bartell's store quickly agreed to a contract that
would give us access to food and water from the store should we
need to shelter in place. This has saved us tremendously. Otherwise,
we might have been forced to lease additional storage space in our
building, and check water and food expiration dates and replace as
needed.
Carmen Slater, RN, BSN, CIC
First Hill Surgery Center
Seattle, Wash.
carmen.slater@firsthillsurgerycenter.com
Rx for Sheltering 200 People in Place
• GOOD NEIGHBORS Carmen Slater, RN, BSN, CIC, quality, safety and infection
control nurse manager at First Hill Surgery Center in Seattle, Wash., and
Director of Nursing Lanie Dschaak, RN, BSN, MSN, MBA, outside the Bartell
Drugs located a floor below their ASC.
