CMCG Updates Winter Weather Plan for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

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Optimized-Snow PlowMechanicsburg, PA, January 20, 2013. Contingency Management Consulting Group has recently completed the update of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s (Children’s) Code White Winter Weather emergency response plan. CHOA is the largest clinical provider of pediatric health care in Georgia. With three hospitals and 18 neighborhood locations, including five Urgent Care Centers, planning for winter weather events at Children’s required the involvement of all levels of the organization. The dedicated commitment of Children’s to ensure the proper level of care is maintained throughout a winter weather event resulted in a robust and actionable plan.

Our consultancy team included Jorge C. Castillo, MS, CBCP and Donna Bernard, MS.  Assigned staff had extensive expertise in medical and healthcare operations planning, as well as crisis and emergency management response. CMCG structured the Code White plan around the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) winter weather forecast system widely used throughout the United States to predict weather events. It also formalized the use of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) to establish the overall response structure, but created a Code White Leadership Team representing Children’s key management, operational, and medical functions to support plan implementation. An early monitoring and assessment group has the critical responsibility for activating the response structure. CMCG briefed the leadership of Children’s on identified gaps, procedural updates, and proposed plan changes and incorporated feedback into the final procedures.

In addition to re-structuring the plan, CMCG also trained staff with responsibility for implementing the plan.

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