Just had our AABB inspection last week and our facility's minor deficiency was not having a detailed internal disaster plan. The assessor was curious what our policy says as to how we are going to respond to the event of an internal disaster and our blood bank is inaccessible. I'm curious how would everyone will answer the question.

See the thread "Disaster Experiences Shared" for some interesting problems and solutions.

WE actually had a statewide disaster drill a few years ago . . . earthquake in Northern NH. All highway access to our area was destroyed as was half our hospital - including Chemistry and the Blood Bank . . . it was deemed that the Nat'l Guard (or someone like them) would provide helicopter support for critical health care materials.

At the large facility I used to work for we had an internal disaster that caused the laboratory to be evacuated. We grabbed the coolers and all the O= and O+ that they would hold and "moved" the blood bank to the frozen section room off of OR. After that there was a policy written saying to do just that.

We know which of our fridges and freezers are on wheels and have talked with the hospital disaster team finding us space, power and computer connections to operate remotely. We have some general info in a procedure.

1. Evacuation: Take Disaster box and Disaster Manual! If a disaster laptop is available, take it (with power cord).
   
2. If must move the Blood Bank operations to another location consider:
   
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   2. Which storage units are on wheels and can be rolled out or getting blood boxes from the ARC donor site (541-382-xxxx or cell 541-410-xxxx).
      
   3. If there will be alarms and monitoring at the new site and backup plans if not.
      
   4. If the outlets at the new location have the right voltage, configuration etc.
      
   5. How Blood Bank can be reached by phone and in person and how everyone will be notified.
      
   6. If there is access to Blood Bank procedures and other documents.
      
   7. Supply of ice/dry ice for the new location; need for blood boxes & packing supplies.
      
   8. How to preserve and have access to frozen tissues.
      
   9. How to operate testing from another location (some essential items listed below—roughly in order of importance).
      
      
      
      

i. Essential testing: ABO/Rh, Ab Screen, IS & AHG XM, Antibody ID, DAT, Fetal Screen, Kleihauer-Betke, Elutions.
ii. Essential equipment: Blood products and storage, one gel centrifuge and incubator, one serofuge, one specimen centrifuge, computer with downtime snapshot, 3 specimen racks, pipets, plasma thawer, multi-purpose thermometer, bag tag printer and scanner (if needed and HBB is accessible).
iii. Essential supplies: tubes, saline bottle, gel cards, reagent racks, disposable pipets, pipet tips, panels, diluent 2, plasma thawer bags, saline cubes, transfusion record forms (downtime unless will have HBB)
iv. Specimens: Indate inpatient samples, segments

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i. Print bag tags, labels
ii. Scan units

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2. How to keep patient data secure on computer with snapshot or HBB access!
   

How to operate computer functions from another location