Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas communities know what severe weather can do: ice storms that bring down lines, tornadoes, flooding and heat waves that strain the grid. For a nursing home or assisted living community, a power or internet outage is more than an inconvenience. It can affect electronic records, communication with physicians and pharmacies, security systems and the ability to reach families.
IT continuity planning prepares for these events. It is part of overall emergency preparedness, not a separate technical exercise.
CMS emergency preparedness requirements for long-term care facilities call for an emergency plan based on a risk assessment, communication plans, policies and procedures, and training and testing. Plans must address continuity of operations and, as part of that, protecting patient information and access to records. The HIPAA Security Rule similarly requires a contingency plan with data backup, disaster recovery and emergency mode operation procedures. Strong IT continuity planning supports both.
List the systems needed during an emergency, and decide how long each can be unavailable.
Electronic records and medication administration
Resident census and contact information
Phones, nurse call and emergency notification
Internet access for communication and pharmacy
Door access and camera systems
Medical devices that depend on the network
For each, document the manual alternative, such as paper MARs and printed census.
Battery backups (UPS): Protect servers, network equipment and critical workstations. Batteries wear out, so test and replace them on schedule.
Generator coverage: Know which circuits the generator supports. Many facilities discover that outlets in network closets or at nurses' stations are not on emergency power. Verify it by label and by test.
Fuel and maintenance: Confirm supply, run time and testing schedules.
Safe shutdown: Configure servers to shut down cleanly if batteries run low, instead of crashing.
Return of power: Plan the restart sequence and check for damage after surges.
Charging: Keep tablets, laptops and phones charged, and have charging options available.
Secondary connection: A cellular or second wired circuit can keep key systems running. Test failover regularly.
Offline access: Some systems can store a local copy of essential data, such as census and medication lists. Ask your EHR vendor about downtime views and reports.
Alternate communication: Keep a list of how to reach staff, physicians, pharmacies and families without email, such as phone trees, text alerts and radios.
Cloud dependency: Know which tools stop working when the internet is down, including phones.
Backups: Maintain copies offsite or in the cloud, and test restores. A flood that damages the building should not destroy your backups.
Hardware protection: Raise servers off floors, avoid placing equipment under pipes and secure closets against water and heat.
Remote access: Ensure leaders can reach critical systems from outside if the building is evacuated.
Paper records: Protect both paper and electronic records during evacuation, including a plan for resident information that goes with relocated residents.
Keep it simple, printed and accessible:
Contact list with after-hours numbers for IT, vendors, utilities and insurers
Priority order for restoring systems
Downtime procedures by department
Roles and responsibilities during an event
Communication plan for staff, residents, families and regulators
Steps after power or connectivity returns
Store copies off-site and in the emergency binder, since digital copies may not be available during an outage.
A plan that nobody has practiced is not a plan.
Run a tabletop exercise that simulates a multi-day ice storm
Try a downtime drill: charting on paper for an hour
Test generator transfer, UPS runtime and failover
Review results and update the plan
Document these tests, which also helps with emergency preparedness exercise requirements.
Hold a review. Which systems failed, how long did recovery take, where did communication break down and what should we buy or change? Capture lessons and adjust budgets accordingly.
Network closets not on generator power
Batteries that no longer hold a charge
A cloud-only EHR with no downtime reports
Contact lists stored only on the network
Backups stored in the same building as the servers
UnityCare IT helps healthcare facilities create and test IT continuity plans, from verifying generator circuits to designing offsite backup and failover. If you want to see how your technology would hold up in a multi-day outage, we can walk through it with you.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172