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LETTER FROM THE PARTNERS
CRITICAL INCIDENTS & EVENTS

About Us

Russell Phillips & Associates is a team of fire, code compliance and emergency management experts, providing specialized services to healthcare facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Since 1976, we have provided unparalleled service to thousands of healthcare facilities (more than 1,300 current clients). Our experience has been acquired from our hands-on involvement in regional and national incidents, participation in professional associations and committees, and continuous industry research. We work with clients ranging in size from small ambulatory centers, stand-alone long term care facilities, and 1000+ bed medical centers to the healthcare facilities of an entire county / state.

Russell Phillips & Associates services only healthcare facilities, thus concentrating all of our efforts on ensuring that the highest level of safety is achieved for our clients. With our understanding of how regulations and standards impact a facility and its patients/residents, we are able to bring a unique expertise to all of our projects.

For healthcare facilities and state and county health departments, the importance of the fire and emergency management programs have significantly increased due to critical incidents throughout the United States. Many facilities have been devastated by disasters including, but not limited to: terrorist situations, fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pandemics and ice storms; which disrupt a facility’s ability to deliver care during an incident. In addition, the sheer volume of higher acuity patients in healthcare facilities makes it crucial that response programs are in place during an emergency as patients/residents depend upon staff and the facility to protect them from life-threatening situations.

An Investment of Time and Research

Furthermore, our investigations of fires and other disasters throughout the United States and Canada have enabled us to apply our best practices, and work with clients to reduce the cost of compliance. Our programs are designed to meet requirements of accreditation and regulatory agencies such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), The Joint Commission (formerly the JCAHO), Department of Health, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The 21st century has been a dynamic era for Russell Phillips & Associates:

• We continuously review healthcare fires, including operating room fires and fires involving the loss of patient/resident lives, to determine effective staff response and procedures.
• After the floods of 2001, we operated under the auspices of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in a visit to Houston, Texas, to review the performance of the healthcare facilities during Tropical Storm Allison.
• In 2001, we visited New York City to analyze the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attack on healthcare facilities and their staff.
• In 2003, we were on-site and able to see first-hand the results of a long-term care facility fire where there were multiple resident fatalities.
• In 2005, we participated on a task force with the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) to review the impact on healthcare facilities in hurricanes Katrina & Rita and to assess infrastructure and full building evacuation issues.
• In 2006, we reviewed the evacuation of several Massachusetts and New York nursing homes and hospitals due to flooding.
• In 2008 and 2009, we conducted interviews of hospitals and long term care facilities impacted by the California Wildfires.

Critical incidents have reinforced the importance of practical fire and emergency management programs for healthcare facilities. Fires, earthquakes, floods and other disasters have devastated many facilities. These experiences and others have prepared our team to effectively train leadership and staff at all healthcare institutions.

The reality in healthcare is that patients are dependent upon staff to protect them from life-threatening situations.

Our Governing Principle: Simulate Realistic Conditions For Hands-On Training

This approach demands that leadership and staff have an opportunity to experience situations as opposed to relying solely on traditional classroom training methods. Staff members who may be proficient in understanding the basic procedures are less likely to panic in real fire and smoke situation versus untrained staff who are unable to participate in simulated environments.

The types of facilities we serve include:

• National & Regional Health Systems
  
• Hospitals
  • Acute Care, Specialty, Rehabilitation, and Psychiatric
• Long-term Care
  • Nursing Homes, Sub-Acute Care, Assisted Living, Group / Adult Homes, Senior Independent Living
• Ambulatory Centers
  • Surgery, Radiology, Clinics, and Medical Office Buildings

History of the Organization

A simple question and the birth of a fire procedure
In the early 1970's, Russ Phillips was working for R. David Diederich, Inc., a safety and marketing consulting firm in Rochester, NY. He was leading their safety group, providing fire and safety consulting services to general industry clients. In 1975, their first healthcare client -- a nursing home -- contracted with the firm to design a smoke detection system. After Russ completed the design phase, he met with the Director of Nursing and asked her what he believed would be a straightforward question: "What would you do when the smoke detectors go off, indicating a fire in your nursing home?" The puzzled look on her face told him all he needed to know. Russ immediately designed a fire plan for the facility and provided general training on the plan.

Consistent methodology for staff training
Shortly thereafter, the New York State Health Facilities Association - representing nursing homes throughout New York - contacted Russ with their concerns about their nursing homes' ability to respond to a fire. He was contracted to conduct presentations for the group, teaching nursing homes how to manage a fire in their facility. In the Albany seminar, a gentleman from the Seventh Day Adventist Insurance Company met with Russ and told Russ how he wanted to ensure that their staff was appropriately trained on managing fires, as they had facilities throughout the world and he wanted a consistent methodology for fire safety.

Fire Procedures must "fit" the facility

Realistic Training Prepares Staff to Utilize the Plan

Russ was contracted by the organization and began his investigations of hospital and nursing home fires and disasters in the United States and Canada. He focused on fire disasters that involved injury, building damage, or life loss for patients and staff. It was during these investigations that he found the primary reasons for life loss during a healthcare fire were directly related to:

• the fire procedure not "fitting" the building
• staff training was inadequate or did not address the essentials of the fire procedure
• lack of training under realistic conditions - as they would actually be during a fire.

On October 12, 1976, Russell Phillips & Associates was born. The company focused on incorporating practical approaches to fire and evacuation planning for hospitals and nursing homes. In 1977, the firm began providing realistic training for suppression of a patient/resident clothing fire and conducting smoke simulation exercises. The hands-on piece was incorporated into the training after Russ observed that the staff excelled at understanding the basic procedures, but panicked in real fire and smoke situations. The patients'/residents lives were in the hands of the caregiver, and they were unprepared to protect the patient/resident during a crisis. How could they be expected to protect the patient/resident if they weren't trained under actual fire conditions?

Understanding the connection - linking programs and expertise

Through the years, the firm client list grew from a handful of institutions to more than 1,300 healthcare facilities serviced annually; each with specific needs, rapidly advancing technology and diversity of patient populations. Russell Phillips & Associates evolved from solely focusing on fire safety, to addressing all of the components of Emergency Management, Code Compliance and Healthcare Mutual Aid Plans for Evacuation and Resources / Assets.

The Russell Phillips & Associates’ philosophy is that each of these programs is linked; and to properly support the healthcare industry, one needs to be acutely aware of how each of these programs interconnects. Russell Phillips & Associates' knowledge of the unique patient population in a healthcare facility, the delivery of realistic training to healthcare personnel for appropriate staff actions during fires and other disasters, and the development of regional and national emergency responses to incidents are the cornerstones of its success. A focus on patient/resident safety and a commitment to innovative technology and education enables Russell Phillips & Associates to meet the specific needs of the healthcare environment today and stay at the forefront of the industry in the years to come.

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