Emergency Preparedness

Appendix Q.1

Medical Staff Emergency Disaster Plan for Volunteer Licensed Independent Practitioners VI. Elements of Performance: A. In the case of a disaster in which the disaster plan has been activated and the Medical Center is unable to handle the immediate patient needs, the President of Staff, or in the absence of the President of Staff, the President of Staff Elect or the Immediate Past President of Staff, may grant disaster privileges. In the absence of all of the above, the department chair(s), the Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Center or the Chief Executive’s Officer’s designee may grant disaster privileges as contemplated by this Section. The grant of disaster privileges under this Section shall be on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the individual(s) authorized to grant such disaster privileges. B. Individuals authorized to do so may issue disaster privileges upon presentation of a valid picture ID issued by a state, federal or regulatory agency and at least one of the following: a. A current picture ID card with a clearly identifying professional designation issued by the Medical Center. b. A current license to practice medicine in the state of California. c. Identification indicating that the individual is a member of a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (“DMAT”), Kern Medical Center Reserve Corp, the Medical Reserve Corp (the d. Identification indicating that the individual has been granted authority to render patient care in disaster circumstances, such authority having been granted by a state, federal, or municipal entity. e. Verification by current Medical Center staff member(s) with personal knowledge regarding the practitioner’s qualifications. C. During the disaster situation, the activities of individuals who receive disaster privileges will be managed by members of the Medical Staff. All volunteer LIPs granted emergency credentials during the disaster shall complete a 72 hour period of evaluation and proctoring to determine continued eligibility for clinical privileges. This may include direct observation of the practitioner’s performance and/or chart review. Individuals given disaster privileges will be appropriately identified by the Medical Center. This will be accomplished by issuing volunteer LIPs volunteer identification badges which will clearly identify them as a volunteer and indicate their respective licensure level (e.g., MD, DO, Clinical Psychologist, etc.). D. Current professional licensure of those providing care under disaster privileges is verified from the primary source as soon as the immediate situation is under control and completed within seventy-two (72) hours of the disaster privileges being granted, unless extraordinary circumstances prohibit verification, in which case the following is documented: a. The reasons verification could not be performed within seventy-two (72) hours. b. Evidence of demonstrated ability to continue to provide adequate care, treatment and services. c. An attempt to rectify the situation as soon as possible. The verification process of the credentials and clinical privileges of individuals who receive disaster privileges will begin as soon as the immediate situation is under control. “MRC”), the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (the “ESAR-VHP”), or other recognized state or federal agency or organization.

May 2008

Incident Command System Training

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