S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 9
W
e call them task cards, and I
call them "a surveyor and sit-
uation life saver." We keep 6
of these laminated, color-coded task
cards on a key ring
in each depart-
ment — busi-
ness office,
pre-op, OR,
post-op and
mainte-
nance, for
example
— and
each
card gives staff
a clear understanding of
their responsibilities in response to
an emergency situation: fire (red), bomb
(black), disaster (green), active shooter (gray/silver), severe weather
(brown) and violence/security threat (white). In addition to their role
in securing the safety of patients and staff, the task cards have helped
to eliminate the "I don't know" answer to surveyors. If a surveyor
comes in and addresses the staff with a question about how they
would handle a particular situation, the staffer can refer to the task
card and provide specific steps for exactly how they would respond.
Barbara J. Holder, RN, BSN, LHRM, CAPA
Andrews Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center
Gulf Breeze, Fla.
How to Respond in an Emergency
EASY TASK Pre-op nurse Donna
Barthes, RN, PAT, reviews the color-
Andrews
Institute
Ambulatory
Surgery
Center
