Emergency: Advance Warning, Staff

If there is sufficient warning of an emergency, schedule and call in extra staff so that they will be available when needed.

Depending upon the emergency, it may be necessary for staff to spend the night, or several nights, at the facility. Plan in advance where they will sleep, what they need to bring with them, and how and what they will be fed.

Some facilities may have a policy that staff can bring family members to the facility with them. If this is the case, the dietary manager needs to be involved so he/she knows how her staff fit into the situation and how the family members in addition to the staff will be fed.

Emergency: Advance Warning, Kitchen

If there is advance warning, there is much that can be done in the kitchen to make the emergency easier to manage.

If there is time, some things to consider doing include:

• Order extra food, water, supplies, and ice
• Cook in advance meats that can be served cold (also slice), casseroles that can be heated and served, bakery items
• Select the coldest setting on refrigerators and freezers
• Store ice and water (freeze sandwich bags of water for easy distribution, freeze as much water as possible, fill as many containers with water as possible)
• Wash dishes and switch to disposable (if losing the dishroom is likely)
• Serve a substantial meal before the storm hits

Anything that can be done in advance will make handling the emergency easier.

Emergency Menu Development, Order Guide

Once the emergency menus and other food and supplies lists have been created, it is very beneficial to create order guides. Order guides tell not only what to order, but how much.

Not only does the food and supplies need to be ordered in advance of an emergency, if the emergency lasts long at all, it will be necessary to reorder. Depending upon the emergency, it may be worthwhile to place a new emergency order as soon as the emergency supplies start being used. For example, if the emergency supply is three days, it may take that long to get new supplies.

It is not difficult to develop an order guide in a spreadsheet with formulas to calculate the amount needed depending upon the customer count. Change the count and it will change the amount to order.

Suppliers may also be able to assist you in creating this as a supplement to your regular order guide or worksheet.

The middle of an emergency is not the time to try to determine what needs to be ordered and how much. The emergency order guide should be ready, available, and so easy to use that anyone in the department can use it.

Emergency Menu Development, Supplies to Keep on Hand

In addition to food to keep on hand for emergencies, it is also necessary to keep supplies on hand.

Of course, everyone has the emergency supply of disposable plates, bowls, cups, flatware and napkins. The amount depends upon the number of customers, the number of meals and snacks served, and the duration of the emergency. It will not be necessary to use these items in all emergencies. If the dishroom is operational; if there is sufficient safe, hot water; and if there is sufficient staff; then regular dishes can be used.

Other supplies to keep on hand include:

• Extra trash liners (all the used disposables have to go somewhere)
• Bleach/sanitizer in case hot water is not available
• Water purification kits (if your facility decides to use them)
• Hand antiseptics (although they are not intended to take the place of hand washing, they are better than nothing if hand washing is not possible)
• Sternos for holding hot food
• Foil pans for cooking and holding if washing pots and pans is problematic
• Batteries, batteries, batteries (and be sure they work)
• Paper towels (it may not be possible to launder cleaning towels)
• Moist towelettes to distribute to customers with meals and snacks
• Manual can openers
• Flashlights or lanterns (make sure they work and have batteries)
• Disposable gloves and other personal protection equipment

This is not a complete list, but it provides a good place to start.

It is important to rotate these items into general use just like food. Some items will deteriorate with time. Also, if these items are not moved, pests can easily hide and live in and behind the cases.

It is also beneficial to work closely with suppliers for emergency food and supplies. The representatives can make excellent suggestions on available products.

Emergency Menu Development, Food to Keep on Hand

In addition to food for the emergency menus, it may also be necessary to keep items on hand for snacks and other situations. Some ideas for food to keep available include convenience items, shelf-stable items, ready-to-use items, and individually wrapped items. These items may need to be beverages as well as food.

Nutritional products such as tube feedings and supplements will also need to be available. Food items for texture modified diets and thickened liquid diets will still be necessary if there are residents or patients needing these items. Therapeutic diet items may also be necessary for some residents or patients.

A consideration for these and other emergency items is that they may be used in a pinch or be consumed by staff. It is important to take inventory on the emergency supplies to ensure everything is available in the event of an emergency.

Emergency Menu Development, Potential for Multiple Menus

It is important to consider nutritional needs of customers in developing an emergency menu, as discussed previously. It is also important to consider what resources may or may not be available.

For example, if both electrical and gas equipment are available, a menu could be written using only gas equipment and one using only electrical equipment. It would also be necessary to have a menu if neither gas nor electrical equipment was available. Another option, of course, is to write and use just the third menu!

It may be that equipment is available, but water is not. This may not require a separate menu, but instead policies and procedures on how to either make the water safe or how to use bottled water.

Another consideration is lack of staff. In this case, food could be cooked, but the menu would need to be simplified for either convenience items or items that require little preparation.

The length of emergency menus is another consideration. A three day menu may be sufficient for most emergencies. For longer emergencies, seven days may be necessary.

There is no right or wrong to emergency menus. It just depends upon what the facility needs in any particular situation.

Emergency Menu Development Nutrition Considerations

There are many considerations in developing an emergency menu. A very basic consideration is realistically, what equipment and staff resources will be available and what can be prepared and served.

Another important consideration is the nutritional needs of the customers. Hydration and calories become the most important. Some residents or patients may have other requirements as well. This is especially true of those receiving texture modified diets and thickened liquids. There may be other therapeutic restrictions that cannot be lifted for even a day or two.

Customers may be more than just residents and patients. Customers may also include staff and possibly staff families or community members. If staff is working, they probably need more calories than the residents and patients.

Also consider allergic reactions. In the past, peanut butter has been a good emergency menu basic. If there are customers with peanut allergies, though, it might be best to avoid peanut butter completely. It can be difficult enough to avoid allergen cross-contact under normal circumstances; it becomes even more difficult in an emergency.

Allergens become a concern not only with the emergency menu, but also with snacks that may be provided.

Each establishment is different because it has different customers. A menu that works in one establishment may not work in another. Although it is possible to purchase emergency menus, and these can be a great starting point, it is still necessary to assess them and make changes as necessary.

Emergency Menu Considerations

The term “emergency menu” generally creates an image of a very simplified, easy to prepare, and easy to serve menu to use in an emergency. This is a necessary tool to have. There may be times when this type of menu is needed. Developing this type of menu will be discussed more in future postings.

However, in many emergencies, it is not necessary to immediately jump to the emergency menu. Depending upon the type, scope, and length of the emergency, it may be very feasible to modify the existing menu and use existing food stores before going to the emergency menu and emergency supply.

Some basic considerations in an emergency include using perishable foods first, frozen foods second, non-perishables third, and use emergency stock last. This is especially true if refrigerator and freezer storage may be lost.

Menus can be written for these types of emergencies. Or staff can be trained on what to do and how handle these emergencies. At the very least they need to be trained on when to start using the emergency menu and emergency supplies.

Emergency Menus and Advanced Planning

A key component in emergency planning is the menus. There are many considerations in developing emergency menus. When an emergency strikes, that is not the time to try to determine what to serve. It is necessary for any staff member to be able to pull the emergency menu and know what to prepare and serve. The manager may not be there!

Another consideration is what to do if you have advanced warning of an emergency. A typical example is a hurricane. There is usually quite a bit of advance warning about when a hurricane will strike and the possible extent of the damage. With advance warning, it is possible to prepare food in advance and be better able to meet the emergency effectively and efficiently.

These two topics will be discussed this month.