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Natural Disasters

OCTOBER 2022
NATURAL DISASTERS
& MPL IMPLICATIONS


Table of Contents

A Word on Our Issue
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A Word On Our Issue
A Word On Our IssueRead More
Mitigation & Preparation
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Mitigation & Preparation
Mitigation & PreparationRead More
Hurricane Ian
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Hurricane Ian Information
Hurricane Ian InformationRead More
Loss Prevention Seminar
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Complete the Loss Prevention Seminar by Policy Renewal
Complete the Loss Prevention Seminar by Policy RenewalRead More
Meet Your Underwriter
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Meet Your Underwriter
Meet Your UnderwriterRead More
News & Updates
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News & Updates
News & UpdatesRead More
A Word On Our Issue

Responding When Disaster Strikes

We’re sorry to report that the theme for this month’s issue was taken from our cancellation of the ProAssurance 2022 Leadership Elite meeting.* The Streamsong Resort sustained property damage as a result of Hurricane Ian and closed during the dates of the event

Further, with the severity of damage across Florida, we felt it best to not further stress the state’s infrastructure with an elective event. Our thoughts are with those impacted by Hurricane Ian as they begin to recover. 

Hurricane season is an ongoing reality many in our coastal communities must manage on a regular basis. Occurrences such as Hurricane Ian’s sudden increase to a nearly Category 5 hurricane are an unfortunate reminder of today’s reality—natural disasters are increasing in both frequency and severity

Natural disasters have a significant impact on our communities, particularly the healthcare providers we serve. In addition to lending their skills to caring for those caught up in the aftermath, the damage caused by storms, fires, and the like create liability concerns that must be managed

ProAssurance is proud to serve our insureds, both in creating a disaster mitigation plan to prepare for potential loss and in managing the liability of the aftermath should disaster strike. And we thank you, our agency partners, for your efforts to check in with your clients and offer support in their time of need

In this issue, we will outline resources to address the current damage associated with Hurricane Ian and more broad disaster mitigation strategies. Please feel encouraged to use these in your own preparation efforts as well as passing them to your clients should they require assistance.

Mitigation & Preparation

WHAT TO DO BEFORE DISASTER STRIKES

The lack of predictability and the potential long- term effects of a natural disaster can cripple an unprepared healthcare entity. Proper emergency management preparation and mitigation can vastly decrease vulnerabilities during a natural disaster.

According to Lisa Van Duyn, Vice President of Risk Management, healthcare entities have gotten better at responding to disasters because of COVID, but a detailed plan is still essential.

“The pandemic really made us think about preparation and connectivity in ways we hadn’t before,” she said. “And that pivot toward telemedicine has certainly benefited patients and practitioners, but a detailed emergency management mitigation plan will help reduce the devastating impact a natural disaster can have on an entity as they strive to deliver safe patient care.

“It all comes down to preparation. Because once that hurricane is moving inland or that fire is raging outside your practice door, it’s too late. You need to know what you’re going to do before it happens.”

There are extensive resources available to healthcare entities for preparation. Below you’ll find strategies and resources for helping your clients improve patient safety and reduce liability risk in the event of a natural disaster, which can be integrated into a general emergency preparedness and management plan.

MITIGATION

Natural disaster mitigation strategies are unique in that they focus on reducing the severity of the impact, instead of preventing the hazard. A risk assessment should provide the basis for mitigation strategies to improve readiness, response, and recovery.

Action Items:

Identify mitigation activities required by law, accreditation by professional organizations (e.g., Joint Commission Emergency Management Elements of Performance), and participation in government programs [e.g., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) Emergency preparedness rule].

Based on the risk assessment, prioritize facility-specific mitigation measures, such as redundancy of power, communications, and data management systems [e.g., obtaining uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and emergency standby generators for critical equipment]; installing water-tight subbasement doors; reinforcing tornado/earthquake safe rooms; installing window film to prevent injuries from shattered glass.

  • FEMA has various Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs, including benefits for hospital power generators.
  • Review insurance policies to determine whether they adequately cover potential losses.

PREPAREDNESS

Preparedness involves a continuous process of planning, training, testing, evaluating, and correcting to ensure the best disaster response and recovery possible. The cycle of preparedness begins with risk assessment and results in a plan. The plan should include training that helps ensure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities and can perform their designated duties in response to a disaster. Due to the nature of natural disasters, preparedness and mitigation strategies may overlap.

Action Items:

Conduct a risk assessment [also referred to as a hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA)] to identify potential geographic vulnerabilities in practice locations. For example, geographic vulnerabilities include hurricanes in coastal areas, earthquakes on the west coast, and blizzards and ice storms in increasingly expanding areas across the United States.

Prepare for each vulnerability identified in the risk assessment. For example, have plans, agreements, protocols, and policies in place for:

Create a crisis management team and designate a command center.

Develop an effective emergency response plan, which may include an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), for Joint Commission accredited organizations.

Develop a business continuity plan.

Develop and implement disaster preparedness training programs.

  • Plan, test, and simulate the most likely disaster scenarios that may occur.
  • Review the results of simulations and facility response to identify opportunities for improvement.

Develop a plan for communication with stakeholders.

  • Maintain a contact list for the supplies, services, and community/state/federal resources that will be necessary during response and recovery.
  • Include process for patient identification and family notification in an emergency.
  • Appoint and train a spokesperson and backup spokesperson.
  • Be prepared to use social media.

After developing a thorough mitigation and preparation plan, healthcare providers should then focus on their response and recovery plan. We have compiled resources and strategies on our Natural Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery site.

Many of these resources can be used to ensure you are prepared as well. As you share this information with your clients, take a moment to ensure your office records will be safe during an adverse event and that you will still be able to service your insureds. The peace of mind that comes with preparation is well worth the time you put into it.

MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS RESOURCES AND TOOLKITS

Emergency Preparedness Rule–CMS

Preparedness Planning for Your Business
Ready.gov–Emergency Response Plan

Hospital Preparedness Checklists and Tools
ASPR’s Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP)

Incident Action Plan
California Hospital Association

Hospital Evacuation
California Hospital Association

Hospital Repopulation After Evacuation
California Hospital Association

National Resource Guide for Disaster Preparedness (PDF)
Conservation Center

Hurricanes and Floods

Hurricane Risk Mitigation and Preparedness Checklist
ProAssurance

Tips about Medical Devices and Hurricane Disasters–FDA

Practice Preparation Checklist
for Hurricane Season–DAS Health

Flood Preparedness and Response
OSHA

Water Disruption Best Practices
California Hospital Association

Hurricane Readiness Checklist–DHS

Ready Business Hurricane Toolkit (PDF)–DHS

Ready Business Inland Flooding Toolkit (PDF)–DHS

Public Health Emergency Resource for Professionals–HHS
BEYOND HURRICANES

The CDC has a number of specific resources on how to prepare for and manage dangerous natural events, including extreme hot and cold temperatures, wildfires, and earthquakes.

WILDFIRES
Wildfires–CDC
EXCHANGE Newsletter, Issue 10, 2020
ASPR TRACIE

EARTHQUAKES
Earthquakes–CDC
Earthquake Preparedness for Community Clinics and Health Centers
California Primary Care Association and National Association of Community Health Centers
Earthquake Drills for Healthcare Organizations
Great ShakeOut
Hurricane Ian Banner

Hurricane Ian Information

Our thoughts are with all those who are affected by Hurricane Ian. As Florida residents begin to recover, ProAssurance is ready to provide information and assistance with any storm-related concerns. The storm has likely interrupted business, and we are committed to treating our insureds fairly with flexibility regarding payments, applications, and similar operations.

Frequent risk management questions following extreme weather include missing or damaged medical records, destruction of medications, notifying patients, and more. If your clients have questions, our Risk Consultants are available to help at 844-223-9648 or RiskAdvisor@ProAssurance.com.

For other questions regarding professional liability policy issues, please refer your clients to the following:

CLAIMS: 877-778-2524
COVERAGE: 800-252-3628
All Other Questions: 800-282-6242
For NORCAL Group insureds, please call 844-466-7225.

DEPARTMENTS OF INSURANCE ORDERS/STATEMENTS
ProAssurance continually monitors communications from Departments of Insurance for directives related to professional liability coverage and our insureds. We will continue to monitor the situation and will post updates to our website.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued an emergency order directing all insurance companies to provide support to insureds in Florida.

To comply with the order and ensure that our insureds are protected during this difficult time, ProAssurance is temporarily postponing all cancellations and non-renewals in Florida until November 28, 2022. We are also extending grace periods for premium payment and deadlines for submission of required information until November 28, 2022. With regard to claims reporting or documentation, it is suggested any new claim be reported as soon as you are reasonably able to do so in order to protect you from any statutory or other court-imposed deadlines.

RESOURCES:
State of Florida Division of Emergency Management
State of Florida Division of Emergency Management disaster planning

October ProVision Webpage Graphics10

 

ASSISTANCE FOR THOSE IN NEED

We know the storm brought challenges in accessing food, water, and other essentials. There are numerous options to help—from volunteering time to local relief efforts, to giving financially or through donations to many worthy organizations, including a few listed below.

The Red Cross:
You can donate online, by mail, or via phone. The group is also asking for blood donors.

Florida Disaster Fund:
The state’s official private relief fund was “established to assist Florida’s communities as they respond to and recover during times of emergency or disaster,” according to its website. Learn how you can help.

Volunteer Florida:
This state agency has several volunteer positions available to assist with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts, such as volunteering with the Red Cross or assisting with mental health services.

Complete the Loss Prevention Seminar by Policy Renewal

All activities must be completed within the policy term to be eligible for potential premium credit.

One of the benefits of being a ProAssurance insured is the ability to save on annual policy premiums by participating in educational seminars at no additional cost. This year’s physician loss prevention seminar, Back to Basics, analyzes the new risks that have emerged in recent years—and how to adjust protocols and procedures to keep physicians and their patients safe.

ProAssurance insureds who complete the virtual 2-hour seminar may be eligible for a premium credit up to 5% depending on the program through which they are insured and the state in which they practice.

Don’t Let Your Clients Miss the Deadline to Save
To be eligible for premium credits or discounts, seminars must be completed by the policy renewal date.

In addition to the annual physician loss prevention seminar, insureds also have access to a library of online seminars that may be completed for additional premium discounts. They can earn up to an additional 2% premium discount, to be applied at policy renewal. These offerings, including individual seminar details, can be found in the SSP under the seminars tab. Practice administration staff of ProAssurance-insured medical practices are also encouraged to participate. Practice administrators can learn about new trends in enhancing patient safety and reducing risk through the Risk Management Booster.

Thank you for helping your ProAssurance clients qualify for premium discounts. Contact your ProAssurance underwriter at 800-282-6242 if you have questions or visit ProAssurance.com/Seminars for answers to commonly asked questions. For information on CME credits, contact your Risk Management team at 844-223-9648. Please note that once an insured has completed an online program, it cannot be repeated for additional CME or premium discount.

ProAssurance Welcomes LaTina Jensen

We are pleased to announce that LaTina Jensen, MBA, CIC, has joined ProAssurance as Senior Business Development Representative for the Midwest Region, effective September 12, 2022.

LaTina comes to us with more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. Most recently, she was with Keane Insurance Group as a Healthcare Practice Consultant. Prior to that role, she had extensive experience on the company side with Coverys as an account executive on the direct side of their business as well as claims and underwriting experience at MedPro, where she met and worked with ProAssurance team member Sean Holsworth. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Ethics from Indiana University and her MBA from Davenport University.

LaTina’s primary responsibility will be our agent relationships in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky. Her extensive experience makes her a vital member of the ProAssurance team. You can reach her directly at 517-347-6212 or LaTinaJensen@ProAssurance.com.

Please join us in welcoming LaTina to ProAssurance and wishing her success in her new role.

Ties That Bind footer

Meet Your Underwriter

ProAssurance underwriters are key resources for developing relationships with our agents to write profitable new business and retain existing policyholders. To help you get to know our staff, we will be selecting Regional Underwriters to feature each month.

  • ELYSIA CHARLES
  • CATHLEEN AVILES
  • SHANTA BROWN

Underwriter – Northeast Region

ELYSIA CHARLES How long have you been in the insurance industry? And how much of that has been with ProAssurance?
I’ve been in the insurance industry since 2013, right out of college, and started with NORCAL in October 2017 and came to ProAssurance after the acquisition.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy providing prompt service and responses to our agent partners and insureds. Communication is a very important aspect of my job, and it’s one of my favorite parts of my position.

What types of new business accounts do you write?
I work in multiple states, and the type of accounts I manage varies in each.

Tell more about you.
I have two dogs, Bocephus and Jessie, and they are both eight years old. One of my favorite things is hanging at the river on summer days.

Associate Underwriter – West Region

CATHLEEN AVILES How long have you been in the insurance industry? And how much of that has been with ProAssurance?
I have been in the insurance industry for the past 19 years and joined ProAssurance six months ago.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I am enjoying learning a new line of business for me, and the team is supportive and full of good information and advice.

What types of new business accounts do you write?
I’d like to see more family medicine and psychiatry submissions.

Tell more about you.
I start with wool fiber and spin it into yarn for knitting and crocheting. There are two spinning wheels in my house: a modern upright from a Toronto wheel builder and a beautiful electric spinner from Washington.

Senior Underwriter – Southwest Region

SHANTA BROWN How long have you been in the insurance industry? And how much of that has been with ProAssurance?
I have spent 18 years in medical malpractice and joined ProAssurance as part of the NORCAL acquisition 18 months ago.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy that I am never bored with my work, and I enjoy the analytical aspect of underwriting.

What types of new business accounts do you write?
I write various types of individual and group policies with differing types of rating structures and exposures.

Tell more about you.
I enjoy cooking, painting, hiking, gardening, and spending time with family and close friends.

News & Updates
Extreme weather derails healthcare delivery across the country, costing millions: report

A majority of health systems have experienced extreme weather events such as wildfires or hurricanes within the past five years, though just over a third say they’ve implemented a climate action or preparedness plan for any future weather-based disruptions, according to a congressional report. (Fierce Healthcare)

Read more →
California enacts COVID-19 misinformation law for physicians

California physicians who spread misinformation about COVID-19 and treatments for that disease could face penalties under a new law. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2098, which designates “the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or ‘COVID-19,’ as unprofessional conduct.” Physicians found doing so could face sanctions from the state’s licensing boards and some news reports described the law as the first of its kind in the nation. (Medical Economics

Read more →
How Google is tackling the opioid crisis in Ohio

Google is working with an addiction treatment center in Ohio as it tries to tackle the opioid crisis. The center enters patients’ drug use history, along with their medical records, into a database to provide individualized treatment plans. (Beckers Hospital Review)

Read more →
North Carolina Supreme Court rules nurses can be held legally liable for medical mistakes

The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled nurses can face legal charges for medical injuries, striking down a 90-year-old precedent. The ruling passed a 3-2 majority. Justice Tamara Barringer, a dissenting justice, said the court overreached in its opinion. (WNCT News)

Read more →
October Back Cover-03

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