Ensuring Resilience in Pediatric Disaster Readiness
GRP specializes in providing tailored disaster preparedness solutions and training specifically for healthcare facilities. Our primary focus is on Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU). We understand the unique challenges these specialized areas face, particularly in safeguarding the most vulnerable patients.
Our comprehensive services include developing robust emergency response plans, conducting specialized training programs, and offering continuous readiness support to ensure healthcare facilities are always prepared for a potential crisis.
By leveraging our expertise, healthcare systems can maintain operations, protect patients and staff, and build resilience against unforeseen emergencies.
About
OUR FIRM
GRP is an emergency preparedness consulting firm serving the international community. We prepare healthcare systems and individual facilities to transition from a position of Periodic Readiness to Continuous Readiness. This is done through highly specialized strategic consulting, training and education, and discreet executive leadership support.
TEAM
The firm is led by Scott Aronson, who engages highly experienced industry leaders with boots-on-the-ground experience to collaborate as Strategic Partners and Subject Matter Experts. We’ve led emergency action initiatives in Neonatal & Pediatric Evacuation, Surgical Fires, Long Term Care and more.
APPROACH
After an assessment phase, GRP works primarily with executive leadership to provide specialized strategic planning and ongoing support with implementation. Our team focuses on coalition building and enhancing communication among local, state, regional, federal, and if applicable, global stakeholders. We understand what needs to be in place to assist you during and immediately following an emergency, and we help you plan accordingly to maintain a state of continuous readiness.
Leadership
SCOTT ARONSON
President
Scott Aronson has served the healthcare industry in a highly specialized capacity for over 30 years. He is passionate about protecting the most vulnerable among us.
For 15 years, Scott served as one of the owners of Russell Phillips & Associates (RPA), with his partners Russ Phillips and David Hood. RPA was known in the healthcare space as a leader in fire, life safety, emergency management, and technology systems. The team grounded their work in a philosophy of protecting what matters. Their practical approach and unmatched ability to manage communications and relationships allowed them to earn the trust of healthcare teams throughout the United States.
Some of his most meaningful experiences came from volunteering time to conduct reviews and provide response support to disasters throughout the United States. The list includes 2 nursing home fires that took the lives of 32 patients in 2003; Hurricane Katrina in 2005; Joplin, MO tornado in 2011; Superstorm Sandy in 2012; and the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-21. Scott also offered pro-bono support for review and response with surgical fires and a range of other disasters throughout his time at the helm of RPA.
In December 2017, RPA merged into Jensen Hughes, an international leader in safety, security, and risk-based engineering and consulting. Scott remained with Jensen Hughes to serve as Senior Vice President for Security Risk + Emergency Management, overseeing a $32M division and expanding his work globally.
Civic engagement continues to be important to Scott. He was one of the founders of Jen’s Friends Cancer Foundation in North Conway, New Hampshire, is the immediate past Chair of the Board for the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District in Connecticut (currently a Board Member), a member of a regional Security Council on Armed Assailant issues, and a healthcare Subject Matter Expert for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) TRACIE, an Operating Division for the US Health & Human Services.
Scott earned his BA from the University of New Hampshire with a major in Political Science and minor in Criminal Justice and his MS in Management from the University of St. Joseph with a concentration in Homeland Security Management. He was named as a 40 Under 40 Award recipient for the Greater Hartford region in CT in 2009.
Professional Highlights
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Developed of one of the first Neonatal and Pediatric Evacuation and Surge Plans in the world. This was completed for Seattle & King County, WA, while incorporating hospitals from British Columbia, Alaska, Oregon, and Idaho.
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Developed procedures, training, and drills/exercises for the management of fires and evacuation of patients in high acuity areas (OR, NICU, PICU, ICU, PACU, Cath/EP Labs, Secured Dementia Units, Forensic Psych, Correctional Units, etc.)
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Revolutionized the prevention training, drills, and exercise processes for clinical teams to handle surgical fires.
This included specialty programs such as the evacuation of patients during bypass mode of open heart surgery and developing procedures around fire evacuation when using robotics.
In addition, Scott reviewed more than 40 surgical fires, on or in patients, and was the subject matter expert for multiple webinars, podcasts and the published video by HcPro entitled OR Surgical Fire Training - How to Prevent and Respond to Surgical Fires.
WATCH A TRAINING from the AORN Surgical Fire Toolkit on managing a surgical fire.
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Provided training to a large health system in the Middle East for fire and evacuation with an emphasis on fire suppression on a surgical patient.
This live, hands-on suppression training was the first of its kind presented in the Middle East (2019).
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Formalized a concept for the Long Term Care Coordinating Centers that are now prevalent in Southern New England and specific regions in New York.
This concept included the development of teams (Administrators, Regional Operations and Clinical Leaders, Nursing Directors, and Maintenance Directors) to respond together - both virtually and in-person - and provide coordination for the relocation of residents in healthcare evacuations, resident tracking, and identifying resource & asset needs for impacted facilities.
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Developed the Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan (LTC-MAP) for Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, and part of Washington State.
Also developed similar plans for Hospital Mutual Aid Plans (HMAP) in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington State.
These plans focused on supporting needs for resources & assets, surge capacity, evacuation, patient categories of care (right patient/right place), sharing of staffing, patient tracking and many other elements to support regional or statewide coordination in disasters.
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Guided the initial development of the technology used by Hospital and Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plans to manage rapid reporting of bed capacity, operational issues, and resources & assets (needed or that can be redeployed) during a disaster.
This ensured that the right patient went to the right place when evaluating evacuation plans & surge capacity, and it also allowed resources and assets to be shared at the local, statewide, and regional level.
This technology has evolved into platforms utilized by single hospitals and large national health systems.
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Coordinated a task force to work on handling the payer process following long-term care facility evacuations.
This team included the Association for Health Facility Survey Agencies (AHFSA), American Health Care Association (AHCA), LeadingAge, the California Association of Health Facilities, and RPA.
We worked with CMS on enhancing language in the 1135b waiver guidance document and supporting documents to address the “no discharge/no admit” process.
While this took many years to establish improved language, the changes also enabled states to apply the same approach to a single-facility evacuation.
We engaged states to memorialize this process through a State Plan Amendment (SPA) and ultimately through the revised CMS language.
The approach still required agreement from the State Department of Health and Medicaid office. It also required individual Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between the providers or a formal Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan, but progress was made to ensure the payer process was not delaying or impacting resident safety in an evacuation.
Our mission is to provide the highest level of preparedness, empowering healthcare providers to deliver uninterrupted and safe care during critical times.
Sampling of Media Contributions
Hear Scott speak in 2020 about COVID strategies for alternate care sites.
Watch Scott talk about some of the 2020 preparations healthcare centers were making as we learned about COVID-19.
Read a case study Scott helped inform about the effectiveness of the Stamford Health Alternate Care Site in 2020.