Tip of the week: Keep dialysis clinics open during disasters

Make sure your emergency plans don't short-change an important service to the community: dialysis clinics.

Find out how many dialysis patients there are in your community as part of your disaster planning, and determine whether your in-house and off-site dialysis centers have emergency power, said Joseph Cappiello, president and CEO of Simulation Education Services in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Cappiello spoke during an HCPro audioconference about EC.4.12's 96-hour rule.

If hospitals shut down their dialysis clinics during a community disaster, eventually "those patients will arrive at your facility . . .  and cause significant stress of your system," said Cappiello, the former vice president of accreditation field operations at The Joint Commission.

An onslaught of dialysis patients at an acute care hospital will require extra equipment and staff members to handle, he added.