Developing a hospital emergency preparedness program.

The emergency preparedness program is not a static entity that only needs to be taken off the shelf and looked at once or twice a year. The various components of the program require that it be a daily part of the hospital's routine. Only by becoming a part of the everyday operation of the hospital can the full benefits of an emergency preparedness program be realized in an actual disaster. A part of the recovery activities after a hospital experiences an actual disaster should be to examine all phases of the emergency preparedness program. The program should be viewed as if it were being designed from scratch. Time should be taken to identify any areas of weakness, develop a plan for making the necessary corrections, and then implement those corrections.