PEI and OHA to discuss strategies for managing emergency situations

From Sunday, September 13 through Friday, September 18, 2009, health care professionals from across Prince Edward Island, will gather together to discuss best practices and strategies for managing emergency situations.

For the past two years, the PEI Department of Health has worked closely with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) to present educational courses on effective emergency planning for health care organizations. This year, as hospitals, public health units and other health care providers prepare for H1N1 influenza this fall, this course is especially timely.

The course entitled, "Incident Management Systems (IMS) for Health Care Facilities," teaches standardized approaches for responding to large scale emergencies. While previous courses in PEI have been geared toward senior health care administrators, this year's session broadens the course's lessons to frontline staff in hospitals, long-term care homes, and other community services, thereby extending the province's preparedness to all areas of the health care system.

"Since 2003, when SARS put many countries' health care systems to the test, organizations across Canada and the U.S. have been using IMS to help them plan for and respond to emergencies," said Tom Closson, President and CEO of the OHA.

IMS is the North American standard for managing emerging incidents of any nature and is considered essential to ensuring an effective and coordinated, multi-agency response during an emergency situation. Participants at this year's course include leaders from the continuing care, community hospital, primary care, and public health sectors. This cross-sector participation will help ensure that PEI has a solid foundation of effective emergency preparedness.

"The OHA's IMS courses have been very successful in both Ontario and PEI, and we are thrilled to be returning for a third year, helping the province prepare for large-scale emergencies," Closson added.

Three two-day courses will take place from September 13 - 18, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day at the National Bank Building (134 Kent St.) in Charlottetown.