Involve Physicians in Your Hospital's Disaster Plans

Smith also makes sure that disaster readiness figure into mundane events too. She recalls activating the emergency operations center when a water main broke outside the hospital.

"That gives people a familiarity of doing it so they get into that mode," she says.

Bill Mangieri, emergency management specialist at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, NY, also emphasizes the importance of various staff being familiar with emergency management.

Mangieri wrote a series of posts this month on his blog, "Preparedness for Health Professionals," about his hospital's Joint Commission survey.

For example, "The surveyor wanted to know about capabilities of our building systems," he wrote. "Make sure you have someone knowledgeable from engineering in the room to discuss back-up generators and alternate sources of water."