HAP Blog

Whether accommodating additional attendance at a regularly scheduled event or responding to new events that are popping up, it’s important for hospital emergency managers to be tuned in to mass gathering events in their community and plan accordingly. More than ever—as we carefully monitor the spread of the Delta variant—we know that we need to prepare for these events, and that our emergency managers will play an important role to make sure our communities are ready.

The summer is upon us, and with that comes the increasing likelihood of severe weather. As storms swirl this summer, we know that our hospitals will remain open—and that we need to prepare for a host of weather-related emergencies. 

It’s been more than a year since the pandemic hit Pennsylvania. The current numbers indicate that the light at the end of the tunnel is growing each day, but the fight against COVID-19 continues in the commonwealth with hospitals and health care workers at the epicenter.

Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) provide a proven approach for health care systems and practices to partner with patients and families to provide guidance on how to improve the patient and family experience. As a result of the pandemic, hospital PFACs no longer were able to meet face-to-face.

Restrictions on visitations were particularly difficult for patient and family engagement (PFE). Hospitals, which had to focus on suppressing the spread of COVID-19 and optimizing the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), had to close doors to all but essential personnel and limited or even halted family and caregiver visitation.