We’re honored to be featured in the EPHCC newsletter’s Partner Spotlight. The article highlights how our team at Foothills Compassionate Care takes a hands-on, creative approach to emergency preparedness—supporting patients, staff, and volunteers both in the office and out in the community. Huge thanks to our safety team for keeping us ready for anything!
Read the full article below:
Partner Spotlight
This month we’d like to spotlight a partner that has a multi-faceted approach to supporting the community – from hospice care, to supporting caregivers and volunteers, to running a local thrift store. Meet some of the team at Foothills Compassionate Care!
Preparedness looks different for different organizations – sometimes that looks like supporting folks in-house and other times that means we need to think outside the box to support our clients and community.
That’s just what the team over at Foothills Compassionate Care is doing! Much of the support they give is outside of their actual office building – they are out in the community, supporting families in their homes. This makes for a unique situation when an emergency arises.
Aside from keeping the building safe and in working order, Steve, the team’s Facilities Maintenance Coordinator, focuses on keeping the team informed of weather or emergency events that might affect the work they do. Steve, along with Elizabeth and Kimberly, do a great job at keeping the organization’s safety plans up-to- date and preparing the organization for whatever weather or emergency event Nevada County throws at them!
The safety team (comprised of various staff) has built a great system for their team and uses creative ways to keep their patients informed and supported during disasters. Preparation for their staff looks like a fully informed, disaster educated team that has support systems in place.
Each staff is part of an all-staff alert system (usually by text) that informs staff of impending events, and any directives needed to keep them and their patients safe. Each staff member is given a folder that outlines the emergency plans, and who their emergency contacts are within the organization – they keep this with them when they’re out traveling to patients. Additionally, the HR team sends out safety surveys to staff to get feedback on topics such as facility safety, fire and emergency preparedness and ergonomics in the workplace.
For their patients – emergency prep starts on the day of admission. During intake of a new patient, staff identify the patient’s evacuation zone and include that in their file. Based on how much support the patient might need, staff decide what other systems need to be put into place (access to a generator, alternative cooling/heat source, evacuation routes).
In an emergency that might affect access or power to the office, most staff have the option to telework, so they can still support their patients from home during events. The team tells us that sometimes they get creative in helping their patients through these events, but with a team so dedicated and informed, they’re ready!
The Foothills team is thoughtful in their approach to keep all staff, volunteers and patients safe during emergency events – and we’re lucky to have them as a partner in our coalition!