2022 Agenda

Emergencies can sometimes take years to resolve. In this NEW and EXCLUSIVE update, we look at the continued efforts taking hold in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion. Delve into the ongoing struggles as we look at the expected confusion over victim identification and the reuniting of the surviving family members.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• The process for first responders to tag and account for all victims at the earliest stage
• Considerations for hard to identify remains
• Lessons learned in reuniting families with remains and survivors
• Management of dead bodies after disasters
• Forensic identification of human remains

In Cape Breton, several days of continuous rain led to washed out roads, cutting off whole communities, and impeding staff from getting to work, and ambulances from reaching the emergency room. With staff unable to reach the hospital, they needed to reroute along the island, turning a quick commute into a 4-hour drive each way. There were large scale power outages, and back up generators failed as well.

The response to these events were varied, incorporating all levels of government. First responders, hospitals, and the military were all involved, and all had a part to play.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Gain a first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground and the challenges encountered
• Understand how Cape Breton hospitals responded to the emergency and found ways to meet excess demand during a pandemic
• How discussions with Parks Canada and Transportation Infrastructure Renewal led to changes in the way roads and culverts were built and installed to meet future extreme events

Large crowds are an everyday concern for first responders. Although Covid restrictions have eliminated many events, there are large crowds of protesters. And when the restrictions end, there will be a return to normal crowd activity.

World-renowned crowd expert G. Keith Still has been studying, teaching and consulting on large-scale events and crowd control for years.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How to cast an eye over plans and raise flags early
• What areas of concern should be addressed early
• What lessons we can learn from AstroWorld, the Olympics, and recent protests

Faced with more extreme weather events, including record heat, cold, and storms, we can expect more disasters and higher emergency room visits; and in some cases, more severe illnesses such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and others.

With a view to how climate change will impact health care, including hospital emergency rooms, what can we expect and how should we respond in the near and long term?

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• What the trajectories and patterns of risk are with respect to climate change in Canada
• What are the causes and uncertainties
• How climate change will impact health and health care capacity among vulnerable patients
• How hospitals should respond to climate change threats
• What is the threat to the anticipated emergence of new tropics diseases?

There are significant gaps in the development of a sustainable approach to responding as first receivers for casualties exposed to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and/or explosive agents.

Our hospital preparedness capabilities across Canada should be refreshed with clear, evidence-based and effective guidance that not only addresses local risks but also is in close development with external hospital partners and responding agencies.

The build of a sustainable and robust CBRNe program must be consulted and developed by a wide stakeholder group including but not limited to emergency management professionals, clinical care representatives, and support services at all levels of administration.

Join the discussion with our panel of Sunnybrook’s CBRNe Sub-Committee Co-Chairs as we navigate these patient and staff safety initiatives in our current state of preparedness.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• What best practices do the literature and past exercises/incidents from the last 10 years tell us, and how can we strategize on lessons learned
• How to plan discussion-based table-top exercises to validate draft processes and practice mock scenarios
• Recommended methods to yield a strong program that takes into account Just In Time capabilities
• Strategies for engaging stakeholder buy-in and demonstrating a community need to prepare and mitigate for this hazard

Emergency managers and first responders witness higher volumes of traumatic events, and are often working in these events for long periods of time. Consequently, we are seeing high incidents of stress, PTSD, and co-morbities among emergency managers and first responders.

There are services and help available, but for many, there is a lack of awareness of those services, and also a propensitiy to discount the need for help.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why first responders may experience greater trauma, and how can it affect them
• Why emergency managers and first responders would not see mental health services
• How to increase awareness of PTSD and other trauma in coworkers – and yourself
• How to address the stigma of seeking help
• What are the long term implications of not seeking help when needed

When hospitals initiate a code yellow (missing patient), or black (bomb threat), staff are required to be vigilant, aware and to search, but when they are ready to report their area is all clear, there is often a bottleneck on the main phone lines for the command centre. This leads to staff calling Locating and Protection Services to report which creates a bottleneck on their phone lines which can prohibit reporting of sightings or suspicious packages found. Ultimately, this prolongs the code and hampers a return to normal operations.

To manage this ongoing challenge, Sicks Kids designed their own in-house solution with a digital PowerApps Reporting Tool. With several test runs, and more to come, there has been tremendous success in the early stages.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why there was a need for a digital way to clear the code faster
• How they designed their own In house code PowerApps app – and how adaptable it can be to other hospitals
• How and why they got it to this stage, and the planning involved
• Take part in a live demonstration of the app and it’s features and benefits

During the first waves of Covid 19, there were large outbreaks in Long Term Care facilities across the country. The situation became so dire, the Ontario Government requested the help of the Canadian Armed Forces.

With the request for assistance from civilian authorities, the Military responders immediately began the operational planning.

This session will discuss the planning and operational phase of Operation Laser, and provide insights into establishing an event-specific operational command and execution.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Lessons learned in planning and staging an urgent and large-scale operation specific to the context
• How the Military responders adapted their operation based on the situation on the ground
• Post-operation lessons learned and how to improve responses within health care settings

Risk Management practices require a simplified approach for people operating in different areas of healthcare. Many do not speak and breathe risk management in their day-to-day job, yet they are still accountable for the risks they should manage.

Key Discussion Topics Include:

• Manage risk through 3 pillars: Keep it Simple, Be Realistic, Make it Happen
• Understand the nuances behind managing risk and managing performance
• Adopt a provincial and regional risk management integration approach
• Be aware of the myriad risks from supply chain, PPE, Health Order for auditing eligibility records, whistleblower allegations, etc.
• Staying relevant during the crisis

Engaging and collaborating with Indigenous and Rural Communities before emergencies happen is critical to the safety of first responders, communities, and individuals in distress. This presentation will discuss challenges that rural First Responders may experience when serving populations outside of urban areas and why small acts of feasible community engagement activities can lead to enhanced medical and response outcomes for all parties.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Building collaborative and structured community engagement initiatives
• Develop partnerships that help facilitate emergency preparedness activities
• How to respond quickly and efficiently in various scenarios

While hospital emergency management is in its infancy, there are very successful and accomplished emergency managers in health care settings who have so much knowledge to share with the larger disaster/emergency management field. At the systems-level, there can be better coordination and continuity of practice if similar guidelines and practices are applied in the healthcare setting and the rest of the EM community.

We know that hospitals respond to and can fare through emergencies well, but there is also a known asymmetry between hospitals, healthcare and the EM/IMS doctrine. The last few years has demonstrated a need to prepare for disasters and catastrophes with a coordinated, whole-of-society approach with our partners.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why emergency mangers need to take systems-level concepts and doctrines, including all hazard approach
• How to better integrate hospitals into the overall community/provincial EM critical infrastructure through knowledge sharing
• That hospitals can plan and prepare for emergencies with their EM peers and partners; they are part of a system that involves the community EM landscape as well
• How to take full advantage of the academic literature and lessons learned across the entire field of knowledge