Abarca was selected to present at “Caribbean Strong: Building Resilience with Equity,” a summit that focused on lessons that businesses learned from two catastrophic hurricanes that hit the region in 2017. The presentation detailed Abarca’s disaster preparation and response plan that was put to the test in the wake of Hurricane Maria. This program was recently recognized with a 2019 PBMI Excellence Award for Care Management.
During the event, we also had the opportunity to speak with leaders from across the Caribbean about their experiences during the storms. While we all came from different industries, there is a lot we can learn from each other. Here are some of our top takeaways:
- There is strength in community. By partnering together, organizations can make a more significant impact in the community–even before disaster strikes. That’s why it’s important to speak to, and collaborate with, other companies to share ideas, and find ways to leverage your unique capabilities for a common goal.
- Preparation plans must be continually adapted. When it comes to preparing for a catastrophe, there is no such thing as a perfect plan. So, companies must commit to continuing to learn and evolve based on their experiences, new resources, and emerging best practices.
- The versatility of social media. Social media plays a critical role in how individuals and organizations communicate, and can be a powerful tool in business continuity. By factoring social media into disaster planning and response, businesses can provide regular updates to key stakeholders on business operations and safety measures, and manage customer service inquiries in real time.
Abarca has been studying Hurricane Maria since the storm hit, and we are dedicated to continuing to learn about the impact that natural disasters have on community health. And while our response plan resulted in a number of positive outcomes for our clients and members, we know that we can find a better way.
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This blog was written by Ana M. Rivera, PharmD, Senior Clinical Client Advisor at Abarca.