Amanda Willia is an experienced nurse on a medical/surgical floor at a community hospital. She arrives at 6:45 PM for her 12-hour night shift concerned about the impending blizzard that is forecasted to bring 2-3 feet of snow and damaging winds during the next 12-18 hours. At 9:00 PM several nurses begin to ask Amanda if she is going to contact the nursing supervisor to seek strategies to ameliorate probable staffing shortages in the morning in order to secure safe patient care.

Answer the following Questions:

1. When is the optimal time to secure a contingency plan to address potential issues with safe patient care due to the storm?
2. What are the potential challenges?
3. Who should be involved in the development of the plan?
4. When should the contingency plan be implemented?
5. How will leaders evaluate the effectiveness of the plan?
6. How will the nursing team evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership team in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating a plan to provide patient care during the emergency?