Great Southern California Shakeout 2011

Great Southern California ShakeOut 2011 Ambulatory Table Top Exercise -Mission Continuity Considerations

Exercise Scenario:

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has occurred along the San Andreas Fault resulting in nearly three minutes of ground shaking. The major impact of this earthquake on the built environment encompassed substantial property losses and causalities in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and the eastern portion of Los Angeles County. A considerable number of hospitals have been either incapacitated or badly damaged, rendering them incapable of receiving incoming patients and necessitating evacuation of those already hospitalized. Transportation, as well as phone, electricity and water utilities are widely impacted as a result of the earthquake. Areas further west of the epicenter, such as West Los Angeles and Santa Monica were less impacted by ground motion, however there was substantial movement of unsecured objects, moderate non-structural damage and injuries requiring medical care. Ronald Reagan Medical Center remains structurally sound; however some structural damage has occurred in the older portions of CHS and the Tower at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center.

Mission Continuity Overview:

When lives hang in the balance, it is imperative that the UCLA Health System continues to provide life saving services to the public in the event of a disruption to normal operations. Whether its caused by an electrical outage due to a catastrophic earthquake or supply chain disruptions due to impassible highway systems impacting vendors, the implication is the same: The longer it takes to recover, the more lives are put at risk. Therefore, in cooperation with our current emergency preparedness planning initiatives, including our Alternate Care Site Plan, we have established a Mission Continuity Program that will enable the UCLA Health System to sustain its critical operations with minimal disruption in the event of an emergency or disaster through advanced preparation for risk mitigation and long-term recovery.

Proposed Questions for Discussion Breakouts:

 What are the mission critical functions at the department level that must be maintained or can be deferred for an established period of time?  What mechanisms will be used to monitor long-term recovery staffing needs?  How do we account for resource needs if there are supply chain disruptions with our primary vendors?  Once the alternate care site has been demobilized, what is the recovery time objective for restoration of normal business functions within our ambulatory care departments?  What are the upstream and downstream critical support dependencies that need to be in place to support restoration of normal operations (e.g. pharmacy, blood bank, etc)?  Has each ambulatory department engaged in mission continuity planning to address these identified operational resiliency needs?