This new - and timely - comprehensive guide is an A-to-Z of all-hazards planning for all healthcare facilities. While it is focused on hospitals, the guidance and procedures covered are equally relevant for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and special needs homes. Healthcare facilities must not only have comprehensive physical security plans in place to cover man-made and natural disasters, they have to have procedures and agreements to facilitate a major evacuation should the need arise. Evacuating one unit of a hospital poses problems, but what happens when five city hospitals have to evacuate all their patients in a matter of hours because of an approaching major hurricane? While the challenge is daunting, it has to be planned for and that is what this guide sets out to do. It leads you through an easy to understand five step process that covers everything you need to know in order to create and implement an effective all-hazards planning and response plan. The book"s five step process details planning, risk and vulnerability assessments, and setting up incident command centers. There are comprehensive sections on emergency specific responses from terrorism and bio-spills to extreme weather events like floods and tornados. The section on evacuation planning includes general evacuation guidelines, planning, training and transportation. There is also information on setting up alternate care sites and recovery following the event. The guide is packed with case studies, templates, best practices and checklists. It is written by Florida experts who have enormous experience in emergency planning and evacuation having tackled major hurricanes and mass evacuations several times. Their expertise and lessons learned are documented throughout the book so that you can benefit from them. Whether you are part of a major health group with many hospitals or employed in a small nursing home, this is an invaluable resource and a must-read book.