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Is Whispering Willows Nursing Home Prepared for a Disaster?

Name of Student

Name od Institution

Date
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Case Study Fifty-Three: Is Whispering Willows Nursing Home Prepared for a Disaster?

Background statement

In this case study the administrator wants to assess how prepared the Whispering

Willows Nursing, WWNH, home is to potential disasters. Disaster preparedness is one of the

most critical dimensions of averting potential damages that could happen to the facility in case

the disaster hits. Unfortunately for WWNH, the facility is located in an area that is vulnerable to

disasters. There is a probability that terrorists could attack one of the sift targets in the area, a

category that the facility falls under, the military garrison that is close by could be testing its

chemical and hazardous materials, and hurricanes are very common here. 

As a result, Mr. Bob Freundlich wants to assess how prepared the organization is to

adequately responding to such disasters in case they befall the facility. He says that in many of

the organizations, the problem comes with implementing the stipulated disaster management

policy. More than 70 percent of the healthcare facilities were found to be poorly equipped to

implement these plans in a way that could reduce the number of casualties while facilitating

these organizations to quickly find their feet once the storm is over.

  Consequently, he wants to simulate a potential disaster as the most effective way of

giving the staff members real-time experience in responding to such events in case they occur.

This state the facility finds itself in is related to the problem in the sense that it is not ready to

implement the disaster prepared policy. If under the administrators they can replicate a real-life

scenario, them they will be better placed to tackle such disasters in case they occur. This is in

line with the organizational policy that stipulates response to emergencies. 

Key points to Understand

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To comprehend the details of the implementation program, the reader, first of all, needs

to understand the organizational policy, the disaster preparedness programs, the role of the

human resource management in such scenarios and the importance of teamwork in handling such

emergencies (Milbrath Snyder & Martin, 2019). Such an understanding will bring them up to

speed on what is expected of all organizational staff when they find themselves in such an

environment. Also, they should understand how critical coordination is when dealing with

emergencies. The location of the facility is important in envisaging the kind of disasters that it

could be prone to. 

Case Summary 

In this case Study, the WWNH finds itself in a scenario where it has to install a workable

emergency management plan. The hospital is located at a geographically disadvantaged located

given the kind and number of disasters it is exposed to. The military garrison that is located near

the hospital normally tests its biochemical weapons and could affect the local community and the

facility as well (Leonardo, 2019). The hurricanes could hit too. Also, the administration of the

hospital has to contemplate the probability of terrorists launching attacks in the local vicinity and

they could hit it as well. 

As a consequence, the administrator wants to mobilize the organizational resources to

make sure that it is ready to take on the problems. Chief to these preparations is testing the

feasibility of the organizational All-Hazards Continuity Operations Plan through simulation. Mr.

Freundlich wants information insights from the office of the inspector general to beef up the

preparations. 

The issues
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The real issues here are the potential disasters and the current mitigative measures that

should be implemented to enable the company to survive the disasters. The company needs to be

sure that these plans can be implemented and help the hospital facility and help it minimize the

damages (Milbrath Snyder & Martin, 2019). These issues are the ability of the company to fully

implement them. It has to look into all threats and evaluate the feasibility of the policies in place

to thwart them. The secondary issues here are the human resource practices that the company

employs to train its employees on disaster management. They are secondary but important in the

sense that they have to be done right to help in the process of dealing with these emergencies. 

They then become issues in case they are not addressed well. As an instance, if the

company’s HR function does not adequately train its employees on the various ways they can

help in the mitigation of these policies, they will handle their roles poorly come the material day.

This function should be taken seriously given its implications on the success of the emergency

responses in disaster management. The difference is on how central a given issue is in the

management of disasters. 

Cause and Effect Analysis

The cause of the problem in question is the failure of the organization to test the viability

of the emergency responses that are outlined in the organizational policies. Initially, the

organization was relaxed that the plans in place could be actualized and help it to overcome these

challenges. However, the look of things, as well as the report from the office of the inspector

general, indicates that there glaring gaps regarding the same. Thus, there is a need for WWNH to

practically understand the workability of the plans to know potential recommendations that could

help. 
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My reasoning is informed by the fact that many companies find it hard to actualize their

emergency response plans when it comes to real emergencies. Also, given that the facility is

located in a very vulnerable area, there is every need to rigorously evaluate the feasibility of

these plans. In this case, I will act as the external consultant that will give the necessary counsel

where need be. My choice was informed that I will be in a position to poke holes in the gaps in

the company’s plans. As an outside consultant, I will give honest opinions on the readiness of the

plans. 

The advantage of this role is that I will help the organization to make corrections where

need be. I will see things from a neutral perspective. The biggest disadvantage here is that the

organizations could sometimes ignore my counsel in areas they may see them as not feasible.

Also, I will depend on the organization taking up acting as the only means of implementation. I

will not be in a position to fully actualize the plans. 

Organizational Analysis

Strengths 

(a) It has an emergency plan that can be implemented in case of an emergency. 

(b) It has a visionary and realistic leader in Bob Freundlich who can make things work. 

Weaknesses

(a) It is located in an area vulnerable to many disasters, for instance, chemical leaks,

terrorism, and hurricanes. 

(b) Its All-Hazard Disaster management plan is not tested and proven. The changes in the

organization depend on the actions of the chief administrators. The implication of this is

that departments are not given enough mandate to independently analyze and mitigate

risks. 
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Alternative Solutions are Recommendation

(a) Carrying out regular analyses on the potential risks that could affect the company. This

strategy is important to that adjustment of the emergency response plans. It is through

such efforts that the company will regularly understand its weaknesses and strengths. 

(b) Rolling out a multifaceted approach to mitigating disasters. Given the nature of the

environment, the facility operates it will be of great importance that it rolled out a

specific hazard emergency response plan as opposed to the existing All-Hazard Disaster

Management plan. These new plans will be detailed enough to guide the employees

through the emergency.

(c) Insisting on employee training. As discussed above training employees means that that

company can fully rely on its competencies to see it through the rough patches.

Implementing these strategies.

The company should evaluate its strategies every three months to ensure that they are up

to date. 

Employees should be given quarterly training through workshops as a way of ensuring

that they can be relied on to deliver the goods when emergencies hit. 

Also, it should often use the counsel of external consultants as a way of getting the real

picture of its situation from professionals in disaster management. 

These recommendations will make the company ready to face every type of emergency,

also it will ensure that preparedness is from the departmental level. The aim is to ensure that all

operations are swift come the emergency day.

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References

Beatty, T. K., Shimshack, J. P., & Volpe, R. J. (2019). Disaster preparedness and disaster

response: Evidence from sales of emergency supplies before and after

hurricanes. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 6(4),

633-668.

Leonardo, A. S. (2019). Scshool in Earthquake Threat: School Based Disaster Preparedness

Model in Indonesia.

Milbrath, G., Snyder, A., & Martin, M. (2019). Interdisciplinary disaster preparedness: Study

abroad in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Health Emergency and Disaster Nursing, 2018-0008.