California hospitals are a critical element within the disaster medical response system and work collaboratively with local government, other health care providers and other agencies to plan, prepare for and respond to the needs of victims of natural or man-made disasters, bioterrorism, and other public health emergencies. Hospital emergency preparedness is a priority for government at all levels, as well as a key focus of regulatory and accrediting agencies.
CHA is now accepting submissions for presentations and best practices posters for the 2018 CHA Disaster Planning for California Hospitals conference. The conference is a unique opportunity for your organization to showcase and share its emergency preparedness knowledge and expertise with a cross-section of peers. Submissions must be received by April 30.
On March 22, FEMA released the Continuity Guidance Circular (CGC) following a nationwide, whole community effort to review and revise the guidance. The CGC guides efforts to develop and maintain the capability to ensure continuity of operations, continuity of government, and enduring constitutional government during an emergency that disrupts normal operations.
For the past 25 years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has published yearly the Statement on the State of the Global Climate, sharing scientific information about the global climate, significant weather and climate events occurring around the world.
A yellow fever outbreak that began a year and a half ago in Brazil is spreading further, with additional cases since last July in the Brazilian states of Sáo Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, plus several cities in Bahia State.
The World Health Organization began recommending yellow fever vaccination for all travelers and residents of these areas in January, but since then, 10 travelers have contracted the disease—all unvaccinated—and four died.
Wildfires, landslides and influenza surge are only some of the incidents to hit California hospitals this past year. The initial response to an emergency begins with recognition that an incident may, or has occurred. In cases where the incident is likely to impact or disrupt routine operations, and may require coordination of efforts and response involvement among hospitals, Health Care Coalition partners, EMS, public health, and environmental health. Key management issues involving situational status, incident characteristics and resource capabilities must be quickly determined and communicated amongst response partners in order to establish a common operating picture. CHA’s Hospital Preparedness Program has developed a tool to help hospitals activate their Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) in the Hospital Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan Checklist with step-by-step instructions for activation and Hospital Incident Command System (HICSi) roles.
