Emergency preparedness starts at home: Supporting employees to provide excellent patient care

Background/Purpose: The North Shore Long Island Jewish (NSLIJ) Health System identified needs and set up a system to provide for the community with a focus on its 46,000 employees during Hurricane Sandy. Methods: During Hurricane Sandy many NSLIJ employees suffered losses and damages. The health system relied upon the Emergency Preparation Team and Human Resources department to create a model for employee support. Within days a hotline and website, NSLIJHELPS.com, were started to determine employee needs and disseminate information. Results: The areas of employee support included : housing, financial assistance, transportation, legal counsel and child care. 276 people were placed in temporary and permanent housing. Financial assistance cards totaling $300,000 and approximately 1 million dollars in loans from a credit union, with 0% interest, were distributed. Carpools, shuttles, and gas were provided during time of shortage. Child care arrangements were made with local day cares while schools were closed, and legal assistance was provided to assist with completion of FEMA forms. Employees donated over 7,000 hours of paid-time off to their colleagues to help those most affected. Conclusions: During times of disaster, employees are often among community members affected. For a health system to adequately provide care to its patients there must be an established system in place to activate to support employees and provide crisis intervention. Having predetermined contacts in the area as resources for employees allows urgent needs to be addressed in a timelier manner. This system must also have flexibility as each disaster presents unique challenges.