Health Care

Emergency / Disaster Preparedness & Response

When thinking of health care in the context of emergency planning, it is easy to focus solely on being prepared for an upcoming pandemic.   However, the requirements are much broader.   Health care facilities & services, which include hospitals, long term care facilities, home health care, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS),  to name a few, must view their emergency preparedness as a combination of emergency / disaster response, pandemic planning, and business continuity.   Ensuring the integrity of health care is a complex task.   Organizations and businesses need to develop and test comprehensive plans and put “how to” specifics of preparation in place.   Food for patients and staff, whether being housed in a facility or being treated in the community, is a basic component of any plan.

Health care planning needs to ensure food availability, during quarantine periods, for essential workers.   Planning must also consider potential impediments to productivity.   Examples include traffic road-blocks and employees concerned as to their families’ well-being during the emergency.   Hospitals, long-term care facilities, prisons, and power plants are examples of organizations that must provide food for workers, patients, and prisoners.   They must ensure that they can provide food even when the movement of products and supplies is delayed or halted.   In order to continue operations during an emergency, integrated business plans which deal with feeding solutions are imperative.

Climate change and globalization increase disaster and pandemic potential.   SARS, Avian Flu (H5N1, H7N2, H7N3), Swine Flu, other infectious diseases, and bioterrorism threats like Anthrax are monitored by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHC) Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC).   In addition, the threat of terrorism makes HazMat and CBRNe very real possibilites which may require healthcare agencies to respond.   The National Office of Health Emergency Response Teams (NOHERT) is focusing on training HERT teams across the country.  

Some incidents, such as hurricanes and pandemics, come with a period of warning that may allow some final preparations to take place.   However, some threats strike with little or no warning such as blackouts, fires and floods.

Public Health Canada (PHC) has a National Emergency Stockpile System (NESS) that warehouses medical supplies across the country.   These medical supplies include pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics.   Some drugs, like Tamiflu®, are managed by pharma manufacturers who rotate PHC’s supply so the drugs are up-to-date whenever they are needed.

You can take steps today to ensure that your business has a fresh supply of emergency food available.   Contact Meal Kit Supply Canada, the exclusive Canadian source for Meals, Ready-to-eat (MREs).

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