When extreme weather patterns emerge, hospitals must prepare for
many potential issues such as rolling blackouts from increased
power usage and patient surges in the ER. See resources
below to help prepare for these and other potential heat related
concerns.
Healthcare and Public Health Sector Critical Infrastructure
Security and Resilience Partnership has released a
Template For Healthcare Cybersecurity Incident Action Plan to
assist hospital CEO’s in creating a documented plan for recovery
from a cybersecurity incident.
Development and growth can stem from something seemingly
small, a major event, or even an accidental
discovery. H&HN delves into why a hospital may benefit
from embracing its history to model its future with the article
A Little-known Asset That Can Shape Your Hospital.
The 2017 release of the National Health Security
Preparedness Index reflects gradual improvement in state and
national progress related to preparing for disasters, disease
outbreaks and other emergencies that pose risks to health and
well-being. According to the index, national health security has
improved 6.3 percent since 2013. The current national score is
6.8 out of 10 on average, with higher scores reported for health
security surveillance (7.9) and incident and information
management (8.2) domains. California’s current
scores generally mirror the national rates, with an above
average rating on environmental and occupational health. Overall,
the index found large and persistent geographic disparities in
health security; that gains in health insurance coverage
strengthen health security in many states; and that participation
in health care preparedness coalitions by hospitals, public
health agencies and emergency agencies has trended upward since
2013.
Hospitals are reminded to share the ways in which they are using
the index through the Preparedness Innovator Challenge, a
competition to identify ways in which the index stimulates
communication, collaboration and action to improve health
security. For more information, visit http://nhspi.org/mobilizingaction/.
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price last week
issued a “Determination and Declaration Regarding Emergency Use
of Injectable Treatments for Nerve Agent or Certain Insecticide
(Organophosphorus and/or Carbamate) Poisoning,” authorizing
emergency use of injectable treatments for nerve agent or certain
weaponized insecticides.
Read full article here.
WHO is alarmed by serious reports of the use of highly toxic
chemicals in an attack in Khan Shaykhun, southern rural Idleb,
Syria.
Read full statement here.
Gov. Brown last week lifted the drought state of emergency in
most of California, excluding Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne
counties. However, water reporting requirements remain in effect
and wasteful practices — including watering during or right after
rainfall, hosing off sidewalks and irrigating ornamental turf on
public street medians — are still prohibited. Counties that are
still under a state of emergency will continue to use emergency
drinking water projects to help address diminished groundwater
supplies. Concurrent with this announcement, state agencies
issued a plan, which would require new legislation, to establish
long-term water conservation measures and improve planning for
more frequent and severe droughts. The full press release is
available online.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released
the newly developed Radiation Hazard Scale to help public health
officials communicate with the public in a radiation emergency.
Designed to be simple to understand, the tool’s scale is intended
to communicate relative hazards to people under emergency
conditions when exact radiation exposure parameters are not
available. During the emergency, environmental scientists and
radiation safety experts will evaluate the data and, in
conjunction with emergency management authorities and public
health officials, assign radiation hazard categories. More
information is available on the CDC
website.
As crews work to repair the eroded emergency spillway at the
Oroville Dam, more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from
nearby low-lying areas. Orchard Hospital in Gridley has
evacuated, while Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville and
Oroville Hospital are following shelter-in-place precautions. In
addition, a number of skilled-nursing, post-acute care and other
health facilities in the affected region have been impacted,
including some that have fully evacuated.
On Sunday, Gov. Brown issued a state of emergency order for the
area, followed by a similar proclamation from Butte County
yesterday. Though the emergency evacuation order was lifted this
afternoon, it is unclear when patients will return to impacted
facilities. It is also important to note that the evacuation
order could be reinstated, should conditions change.
To alleviate strain on the emergency spillway and reduce further
erosion, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has
increased water flow down the main spillway’s chute. Currently,
reservoir levels are at 892.81 feet and dropping at three to four
inches per hour. DWR’s target depth for the reservoir is 851
feet. A multitude of other state, federal and private sector
resources — including the California Department of Public Health,
the California Office of Emergency Services, the Emergency
Medical Services Authority and the California National Guard —
have been deployed to provide support and assistance. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency’s Regional Response Coordination
Center in Oakland has
moved to 24-hour operations to prepare for potential spillway
failure. For more information on this dynamic situation, visit
www.caloes.ca.gov.
Prepared by Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and
created in collaboration with several subject matter experts to
map the CMS Emergency Preparedness Conditions of
Participation; the linked document is available for use as a
resource for emergency and disaster related program, policy,
communication, training and exercise elements of regulatory and
accreditation standards. The crosswalk should be used as a
guide,not a substitute for existing federal, local, or
accrediting organization guidance.
On January 11, 2017 ASPR TRACIE hosted a webinar on the
newly-released 2017-2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response
Capabilities. The webinar is archived and available for viewing
on the ASPR TRACIE
website.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services urges
preparation and monitoring of local weather service advisories
and in anticipation of major storms, prolonged heavy rains and
flooding forecasted for Northern and Central California this
weekend. Providers should review their severe weather plans as
well as the Hospital Incident Command System (HICSi)
planning and
incident response guides. The California Office of Emergency
Services
Twitter feed provides information on the storm.
According to the Department of
Transportation, weather-related crashes account for over
480,000 injuries and more than 6,000 deaths each year. Take
precautions on the freeways this season to keep you and other
travelers safe. More information and safety tips can be
found on
NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation Webpage.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
leads the country in preparing for, responding to, and recovering
from the adverse health effects of emergencies and disasters.
This is accomplished by supporting the nation’s ability to
withstand adversity, strengthening health and emergency response
systems, and enhancing national health security. ASPR’s Hospital
Preparedness Program (HPP) enables the health care delivery
system to save lives during emergencies and disaster events that
exceed the day-to-day capacity and capability of existing health
and emergency response systems. HPP is the only source of federal
funding for health care delivery system readiness, intended to
improve patient outcomes, minimize the need for federal and
supplemental state resources during emergencies, and enable rapid
recovery. HPP prepares the health care delivery system to save
lives through the development of health care coalitions (HCCs)
that incentivize diverse and often competitive health care
organizations with differing priorities and objectives to work
together.
ASPR developed the
2017-2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities
guidance to describe what the health care delivery system,
including HCCs, hospitals, and emergency medical services (EMS),
have to do to effectively prepare for and respond to emergencies
that impact the public’s health. Each jurisdiction, including
emergency management organizations and public health agencies,
provides key support to the health care delivery system.
Since the last National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin
issued in June 2016, our basic assessment of the global threat
environment has not changed. We remain concerned about homegrown
violent extremists who could strike the homeland with little or
no notice. Events since the last NTAS Bulletin reinforce this.
Accordingly, increased public vigilance and awareness continue to
be of utmost importance. For
more information click here to read the full bulletin.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the
California Department of Public Health have issued Health
Advisories and travel alerts on the Zika Virus. The Zika virus is
spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms
of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and
conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with
symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease
requiring hospitalization is uncommon. In May 2015, the Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the
first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. The outbreak in
Brazil led to reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome and pregnant
women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor
pregnancy outcomes. For more
information.
