It's the Really Ready! Newsletter -SPRING into action!

 Welcome to the Really Ready! Newsletter 
 
  your source for disaster preparedness updates and opportunities  
 
   brought to you by the CA Association of Health Facilities' Disaster Preparedness Program (CAHF-DPP)  

Welcome to the Really Ready! Newsletter – bringing you the latest emergency management training opportunities and disaster preparedness regulatory updates, right to your inbox.

 Upcoming Opportunities  
California Department of Public Health - Emergency Preparedness Office (CDPH-EPO)
November 15th, 2018 Statewide Medical Health Exercise (SWMHE)
This is the annual exercise for California's healthcare providers to practice their Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs). CDPH-EPO provides the Situation Manual and other exercise materials, as well as send out e-alerts on CAHAN on the day of the exercise. Learn more here.  
 
Three other things to do to prepare for your first Statewide Medical Health Exercise (SWMHE):
1. Sign up for CAHAN if you have not already. Email your county's HAN coordinator to get signed up, learn more here. LA County - see below. 
2. Establish contact with your county Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator. Click here to find your county's contact information. 
3. Make sure your Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is up to date, and familiarize yourself with the documents you will use to document the Statewide Medical Health Exercise. Check our EOP webpage for any new policies and procedures that may have been added. 
 
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services:
September 11th, 8am - 4pm: Exercise Participant Seminar and Countywide Tabletop Exercise
This is an all-day event with an information session in the first half of the day, and a tabletop exercise in the second half of the day. This tabletop exercise uses the same scenario as the LA County Medical Health Exercise (LACOMHE) occurring on November 15th. LA County is using their own scenario instead of participating in the Statewide exercise, so make sure you sign up for all three of these related events. This event is open to all healthcare providers types of LA County, so make sure you arrive early to get a seat. Register here. 
 
November 15th, 9am - 12pm: LA County Medical Health Functional Exercise
This is the day when the County will use the same scenario as the tabletop exercise, but the County will now operate it as a functional exercise, using ReddiNet to respond to the scenario in real-time. Use your notes from the September 11th Participant Seminar to participate effectively, and make sure you register through the County's Eventbrite in order to show proof of participation. Register here.
 
December 13th, 8am - 12pm: LA County Exercise Evaluation Conference
Attend this session to learn how to properly document your exercise participation, and turn in your exercise evaluation to the County. Make sure to attend this morning event for survey success later on. Register here.

Program Updates for 2018  
 
Check out the new additions to the Emergency Operations Plan webpage! We have sample policies for:
Alternate care sites
The 1135 waiver process
Volunteer management 
On the Memorandums of Understanding webpage, you can find new templates for:
Emergency transportation
Generator fuel resupply
Billing and reimbursement
On our Contact Your County webpage, you can find the most current information to begin collaborating with your county's healthcare coalition and Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator (MHOAC). 
 
Hazard Vulnerability Assessments in the Springtime... 
 
Are you plugged into your county's healthcare coalition? Did you know that your coalition prepares a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment every year? This document is a very important part of completing your facility's HVA, and the CMS EP Rule instructs surveyors to ask for which documents you used to create your facility's HVA. E-tag 0006 which states you need information not only on your facility's hazards, bot those in your community at large as well.
 
Healthcare coalitions typically review their HVAs in the springtime, and publish them in the summer. Don't forget to check out our County Contacts webpage to get on your county's mailing lsit for that Hazard Vulnerability Assessment. Pro tip: Sometimes the county public health department will include the HVA as a subsection of the county's Public Health Emergency Response Plan.

 Preparing for Wildfire Season
 
As we head into summer, take a minute to consider the terrain around your facility, and your own home. Are you in an area routinely threatened by wildfire? Where do you get your information about wildfires, and whether or not it is headed in your direction? Keep in mind that emergency medical resources will be stretched thin during wildfire season, and it is your facility's responsibility to maintain situational awareness and track evacuation orders, monitor information sources, etc. Also consider mitigation efforts to lower your faiclity's risk of being affected by wildfires, or wildfire smoke. Stock up on N95 masks for staff, purchase extra air filters for your HVAC system, and review with your Physical Plant Director what additional steps can be taken to keep smoke out of your building.

     Download the Disaster Preparedness App, where SNFs, IIDs, and localized healthcare coalitions can set up accounts and store their critical contact lists, staff assignments, and more. It is also able to operate offline by downloading its content to the smartphone itself, making crucial emergency information available when telecommunications are down.
 
     Administrators: Your contact information on the DP App is password protected and confidential – only those staff that have the facility account’s password will be able to see your facility’s uploaded content. To download, follow the directions here.

  Personal Preparedness: What You and Your Staff Can Do  

      Did you know that to prepare for a disaster at work, you actually need to start at home? If your staff and/or their families are unprepared, it negatively impacts your residents because staff are either unavailable to come to work, or emotionally preoccupied while on-site. Promote personal preparedness at your facility by giving staff a short, monthly action item and ask them to report back on their progress. Print and pass out this checklist from the American Red Cross for your staff.

This newsletter is brought to you by the California Association of Health Facilities’ Disaster Preparedness Program (CAHF-DPP), and made possible by a grant from the California Department of Public Health. Learn more at www.cahfdisasterprep.com.

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