Pandemic Preparedness
Pandemics are appropriately titled, because when they break out, pandemonium can ensue. Of course, in reality, the “pan” in pandemic is Greek for “all,” an indication that a threat – usually a virus – has the potential to adversely affect vast numbers of people if it’s not contained.
Organizations like the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are tasked with this massive responsibility, and as history has indicated, have often succeeded, preventing strains like Zika, H1N1 and others from spiraling out of control. In just about every case, however, the CDC and WHO were able to contain these contagions only after swaths of citizens came down with symptoms.
It’s the “ex post facto” nature of these viruses that make them concerning and worthy of disaster management planning. Indeed, as in the case of the worldwide virus in swine flu, and to a lesser extent Zika – which primarily affected parts of South America – the respective diseases proliferated at a pace far faster than health officials could manage.
This reactive strategy is an unsustainable model and must be modified, so health officials can get out ahead of outbreaks as soon as they become apparent. In the process, diseases must be monitored in real time so the appropriate disaster management resources can be dispatched.
KETCHConsulting can serve as organization leadership’s first line of defense, by implementing the emergency management resources and pandemic preparedness tools, that KETCHConsulting provides through its services and Tabletop exercises. Here are some of the other ways KETCHConsulting services can fuel enterprise leaders’ pandemic readiness:
- Identify early warning signs indicative of virus progression.
- Establish a working group or body that delineates the guidelines and procedures for virus containment and implementation of action plans.
- Pinpoint what current pandemic safety protocols are in place among industries and if organizations are in compliance.
- Checklists for pandemic planning that corresponds with recommendations of major health organizations like the CDC and WHO.
- Expedited medical monitoring that stanches a disease’s spread among staff members.
- Establish strategies that help maintain healthy workplace production levels when multiple workers are out sick.
- Develop and test BCP solutions for Pandemics, e.g. Teleworking.
KETCHConsulting has the business continuity resources and disaster management bona fides to train, develop and install the pandemic readiness measures necessary for businesses to be resilient when viruses threaten.
