Preparing for the Unexpected
Health care centers are required to have an Emergency Preparedness Plan (approved by the proper authorities), keep the plan updated, and get key team members prepared for the unexpected. Close attention is given to trends in neighboring communities and around the country. For instance, when the days following Hurricane Irma saw fatalities in a facility in Florida, the risk of dangerously high temperatures in nursing homes due to loss of power became a concern to all of us.
As we expect more record-high temperatures and summertime weather events in the years to come, Cross Keys Village realized that our Emergency Preparedness Plan needed some adjustment in this area. Members of our Safety and Operations teams came up with the idea to create a safe-temperature refuge in our vast Nicarry Meetinghouse, should the Mission Point building – home to our Health Care Center and Personal Care – ever lose power to its central cooling systems. Mapping out the logistics of a “pop-up” yet large-scale cooling system required our team to think innovatively.
Three industrial air conditioning units capable of cooling Nicarry in a short amount of time were available in our area, but finding the perfectly-sized, diesel generator to power those units proved to be a challenge. Director of Facility Maintenance Scott Kronmeyer and Director of Safety and Transportation Ed Sharrah found the perfect model, gently used, all the way in North Dakota – where it had been used to power drilling machinery. Scott and Ed travelled to North Dakota twice. There, they received excellent instructions from Miguel, a representative from the oil company who helped them understand the ins-and-outs of the complex machine.
Scott and Ed were so grateful for Miguel’s help that the generator, on arrival at CKV, was renamed Miguel. On July 23, we put Miguel – plus the three cooling units – to the test, and they passed with flying colors. If ever needed, the whole system can be put in place in less than an hour. Members of CKV’s Maintenance team will work together, each with an important assignment, to stage and power the emergency cooling system while residents in Mission Point are gathered in the comfortable space until the emergency is over.