The chief operations officer of Readiness Associates, which helps organizations prepare for and respond to man-made and natural disasters, will speak about emergency preparedness at a health care conference next month in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Bruce Brauninger will make his presentation Aug. 28 at the New Mexico Health Care Association/New Mexico Center for Assisted Living 2019 Convention and Exposition at Isleta Resort and Casino. The event’s theme is “It’s No Mystery: Solving Today’s Healthcare Challenges.”
According to organizers, this year’s event was designed to “offer innovative ideas to continue to improve the quality of life and quality of care for New Mexico’s frail elderly and disabled.”
Brauninger has decades of experience in the insurance and preparedness industries. He has successfully guided teams and various preparedness programs at local, regional and national levels.
The New Mexico Health Care Association/New Mexico Center for Assisted Living (NMHCA/NMCAL) is a professional trade association for facility-based long-term care providers.
Healthcare organizations face unique challenges in providing continuing patient care during crises. Realizing this, in late 2017 the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made it mandatory for 17 types of healthcare organizations to implement Emergency Preparedness Programs for their facilities.
“Feedback we receive around the country, as part of meeting with scores of healthcare professionals, is that compliance is overwhelming, and because of that hospital administrators are not sure exactly where to start or what to do,” Brauninger said. “Based on discussions with folks engaged nationally to improve the quality of care, hospitals need to dedicate resources and individuals, maybe a person or a team of people, to assist these organizations to be CMS Rule compliant.”
To comply with the new CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule, organizations must perform a risk assessment, develop emergency plans, communications plans, policies and procedures, and train and test staff members.
“Our team at Readiness Associates is proud to engage NMHCA members on the benefits of our Healthcare Facility Emergency Preparedness Self-assessment to more clearly identify strengths and opportunities to better comply with this recent CMS Rule,” said Michael Boardman, CEO of Readiness Associates.
Readiness Associates advises organizations on numerous concerns, from the pandemic flu and medical emergencies to evacuations and drills during natural disasters, environmental hazards, terrorism (workplace violence) and many other events. Readiness Associates provides confidence when risk becomes reality.