POLICY: DISASTER RESPONSE
PURPOSE To establish a policy that addresses administrative support for Graduate Medical Education programs and residents in the event of a disaster or interruption in patient care. This will include minimizing the impact of such a situation on the educational experience of the residents, protecting the well being and safety of the residents, and making provisions for continuation of the educational experience and resident assignment.
POLICY
In the event of a disaster, which may be determined by Federal, State and/or local governments and defined by ACGME where the training of residents is interrupted for a significant time, the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) working with the Designated Institutional Official (DIO) and other sponsoring institution leadership at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) will strive to restructure or reconstitute the educational experience as quickly as reasonably possible following the disaster. The DIO will be the primary institutional contact and maintain communication among house staff, program directors, hospital administration, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS).
In order to maximize the likelihood that residents will be able to complete the program requirements within the standard time required for certification in that specialty, the GMEC and DIO will make the determination if transfer to another program is necessary on either a temporary or permanent basis consistent with ACGME policies and procedures and CMS ruling relevant to the relocation and funding of residents affected by the disaster.
Once the GMEC and DIO determine that the sponsoring institution can no longer provide an adequate educational experience for its residents, SBUH will attempt to arrange for the temporary transfer of residents to programs at other sponsoring institutions until such time as SBUH is able to resume the training experience. Residents who transfer to other programs as a result of a disaster will be provided by the DIO with the estimated time that relocation to another program will be necessary. Should that initial time estimate need to be extended, the resident will be notified by the DIO using written or electronic means identifying the estimated time of the extension.
If the disaster prevents the sponsoring institution from re-establishing an adequate educational experience within a reasonable amount of time following the disaster, then permanent transfers will be arranged to the extent reasonably possible.
In the event of a disaster affecting other sponsoring institutions of GME programs, the DIO and GMEC will coordinate on behalf of Stony Brook University Hospital the ability to accept transfer residents from other institutions. This may include the process to request complement increases with ACGME that may be required to accept additional residents.
Reviewed and Approved: March 31, 2008 | 
