TO: Ballad Health All
FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center (CEOC)
DATE: Thursday,Jan. 22, 2026
TITLE: Winter Weather Alert for Jan. 22
NOTE: This message was emailed from CEOC to Ballad Health team members on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 22.
Ballad Health has activated its Corporate Emergency Operations Center due to anticipated snow and ice accumulation beginning Saturday, Jan. 24, as well as persistent temperatures below freezing. Individual facilities will stand up their Incident Command Centers on Friday, Jan. 23.
Please review Ballad Health’s Inclement Weather Policy (intranet main page > Quick Links > Ballad Health Policies > Policy Manager > search for Inclement Weather Staffing) and read below for the most current list of system updates.
Inclement Weather Policy
- Ballad Health’s Inclement Weather Policy will be in place from Day Shift Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7 a.m. through Day Shift Tuesday, Jan. 27, ending at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. This applies to inpatient facilities and other patient care locations for essential personnel.
- Essential personnel are expected to report on time and be prepared for overnight stays where necessary and based on operational needs. Leaders should proactively contact scheduled team members to remind them that they may need to remain on-site or stay overnight if conditions worsen. Pack your work bag with any necessary toiletries, medications, sleeping supplies and appropriate overnight attire, as well as food and water from home if desired.
- If unscheduled absences occur due to inclement weather, effective as of the date and time of this email, any team member who volunteers to work any new unscheduled shifts – will be paid at 1.5 times their base rate, regardless of whether they reach 40 hours in the week.
- If you are able to identify a volunteer in advance who is willing to cover a shift or shifts during the identified period, once they commit to covering a shift, place them on-call using the appropriate pay code in Kronos. This will ensure if you have a call in that you already have someone already committed to cover.
- Smart Square
- If your department is on Smart Square, managers will also need to document on the team member time card using pay code WEATH1.5 for the identified time frame. All Smart Square scheduling requirements (including iChoice) remain the same. Managers should maintain accurate schedule edits and team members should continue to pick up iChoice shifts as normal.
- If your department is not on Smart Square, use the pay code WEATH1.5 in Kronos to indicate a shift being picked up as a result of the weather.
- For nursing
- Float pool is eligible. Internal Float Pool should be a last resort.
- Due to contractual expectations, contract labor and international nurse resources are excluded.
Commuting
- Make arrangements to carpool with fellow team members if needed, and if it’s safe to do so.
- To limit travel on icy or snowy roads, non-essential support, ancillary and corporate staff who are already set up with remote capability are advised to work from home on Monday, Jan. 26, and Tuesday, Jan. 27. In-person meetings for those dates should be rescheduled or held virtually.
Operational readiness
- Practice IT downtime procedures in the coming days. Review the IT downtime materials attached to the Outlook email sent by CEOC on Thursday, Jan. 22, and contact your manager if you are unsure of the procedures in your department or role.
- Log into your BCA devices as soon as possible and ensure they are ready for use and confirm your device is charged, updated and accessible before the weather impacts begin. To learn more about how to identify and access a BCA device, please read the BCA Web Data Entry Document and the BCA Downtime Devices Document attached to the CEOC email.
- In the event of a power outage, all clinical units should have printers and computers connected to red outlets linked to emergency power systems.
- Facilities staff will prioritize clearing all walkways and parking lots of ice and snow to ensure safe hospital access. Please continue to park in areas marked for team member parking.
- Ballad Health Medical Associates offices and other outpatient facilities should drip faucets beginning Friday afternoon to prevent burst or frozen pipes.
Security and safety
- If you, your home-bound patients or loved ones require tanked oxygen, insulin or other critical daily medications, ensure sufficient supplies are on hand to last several days.
- Individuals presenting to the hospital seeking warmth are not to be turned away. Facility security will designate areas for non-patients seeking warmth.
- EMS and transport teams may be required to limit activity during icy conditions. Risk assessments for NICU and behavioral health transports will occur prior to approved transport.
Training classes
- As weather conditions evolve, scheduled training classes (AHA, Clinical Education, CPR, Epic Education, Organization Development) will be rescheduled or held virtually.Updates will be forthcoming.
- Team Member Orientation on Monday, Jan. 26, will be held virtually. New hires who are scheduled to participate have been contacted.
Questions
For questions, please contact the Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center at BalladHealthCorporateEOC@BalladHealth.org.
The organization is in a strong preparedness position. No service interruptions are anticipated at this time, and leadership will continue to monitor conditions closely through CEOC.
