What is the required process for Emergency Management event Recovery and Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)?

The Joint Commission requires an organization to have a written continuity of operations plan (EM.13.01.01) and a written recovery plan (EM.14.01.01). When developing the continuity of operations and recovery plans, the organization considers its prioritized hazards identified as part of its hazards vulnerability assessment when developing these plans.

The continuity of operations plan (COOP) outlines how the organization will continue to provide essential or critical services until full operations are restored.  Based on the known or assessed risks (the HVA) the organization predicts what the consequences would be if they were to lose critical infrastructure (such as information technology, security systems, administrative/vital records) and develops plans and/or policies to identify actions the organization will implement to mitigate the effects of a potential emergency or disaster. The COOP also includes a strategy for a succession plan for key leaders if they are not able or available to carry out duties (for instance, if they are stranded away from the organization or have a communications interruption), as well as a delegation of authority plan for policy and decision making. Testing the COOP for potential failures will be needed during emergency management exercises, which allows participants to identify gaps or weaknesses and provides opportunities to make improvements. Failure to recognize and plan for challenges may disrupt the organization's ability to provide essential services and functions that may result in the inability to remain fully operational, resulting in partial or even full evacuation. (For testing requirements, refer to Standard EM.16.01.01).

A disaster recovery plan is a documented, structured approach that describes how the organization will quickly restore services such as electricity, water, communications, and information technology and resume operations. Conducting an organization wide damage assessment occurs early in the recovery phase to begin identifying needs for recovery services or repairs and to begin restoring critical systems and essential services. Phases of recovery can vary depending on the incident and the damages or impacts to the organization. Response, continuity of operations, and recovery procedures are often conducted concurrently. Therefore, identifying connected functions, tasks, or activities in the post-emergency environment will facilitate a coordinated transition from response to recovery. Therefore, the disaster recovery plan is an essential part of continuity of operations and provides strategies to quickly handle incidents, reduce downtime, and minimize financial loss so that the organization can continue to operate or quickly resume critical functions after an emergency or disaster.

There are differences between the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and the COOP.  The EOP is a plan for how the organization will function during the mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of a given emergency, or the emergency response to an event/incident.  The COOP should detail all the procedures that define how the organization will continue to operate within the emergency and/or recover the minimum essential functions in the event of a disaster.  The focus of a COOP is often protecting the physical plant, information technology systems, business and financial operations, and other infrastructure from direct disruption or damage so that the organization can continue to function through or shortly after an emergency.