ASPR TRACIE Express: April 2019 Updates

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Express

April 2019

Happy spring, ASPR TRACIE stakeholders! We are thinking about our colleagues dealing with the aftermath of the recent chemical tank fire in Texas, and we propose several resources that may be of assistance to you, as well as additional resources for those recovering from (or planning for) flooding events:

Natural Disasters, Chemical Hazards, Healthcare Facility Evacuation/Sheltering, and Responder Safety and Health Topic Collections;
Health and Social Services Recovery Lessons Learned from the 2016 Louisiana Flooding;
Issue 6 of The Exchange (Evacuating Healthcare Facilities);
When Hospitals Become Islands; and
After the Flood: Mold-Specific Resources.

We also invite you to read Dr. Kadlecs recently published blog Preparing for a Potential Domestic Ebola Outbreak. It includes information on enhancing regional preparedness, developing life-saving protocols, and training responders. We sincerely appreciate your support and encourage you to reach out to us if you have a resource to share or need technical assistance.

In this issue of The Express, we highlight The Exchange, a recent webinar, upcoming events, and updates from our three domains.

New: Support Services for Hospital SurgeMeeting Patient and Staff Needs

Our most recent issue of The Exchange highlights how healthcare practitioners and subject matter experts from the hospital nutrition, blood, and pharmacy fields plan for surge events, overcome challenges, and incorporate lessons learned into their plans and policies.

New: Hospital-Based Incident Command Systems: Small and Rural Hospitals Webinar

This webinar (the second in our series) was hosted in March and featured speakers from small and rural hospitals who have experienced a recent emergency and activated their hospital-based incident command systems. The speakers provided a brief overview of the incident, described how they implemented their incident command system, shared lessons learned and tools for small and rural hospitals, and discussed how they have incorporated these lessons into their current systems and plans. A summary of the Q and A session is also available.

Upcoming Event: April 17-19, 2019

The Georgia EMAG Conference (Savannah, GA) features speakers and sessions designed for emergency management professionals, public health, healthcare coalitions, and others. Check out the ASPR TRACIE Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Resources at Your Fingertips Useful Guidance and Lessons Learned from Recent Incidents session on April 17, from 1:30-2:45 PM.

Domain Updates

Technical Resources
We continue to refresh our comprehensively developed Topic Collections in the Technical Resources domain! Access the most recent version of the Homecare and Hospice and Pharmacy Collections today! We also recently published the Controlled Substances & Emergency Response Fact Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions, which outlines current guidance that exists regarding the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances during a disaster; details the challenges that patients, healthcare providers, and emergency managers experience related to the provision of controlled substances during disasters; and highlights areas of opportunity for developing solutions and targeted planning. Later this spring, we will release a series of documents that detail Medical Surge and the Role of Home Health and Hospice. Have a question about how HIPAA applies during disasters? Check out our fact sheet.

Assistance Center
The Assistance Center has processed more than 4,700 technical assistance (TA) requests from a variety of stakeholders. Recently released responses to TA requests include: Ebola Waste Management; Plain Language Emergency Alerts; Evacuation Resources for Neonatal Intensive Care Units and High-Risk Obstetrics Units; Local Public Health Department Emergency Operations Plans; CMS EP Rule Generator Requirements; Emergency Management Terms and Presentations; and Deployment Health Forms. Check out our summary of TA responses, and please reach out if you need assistance.

Information Exchange
Nearly 5,800 of your colleagues use the Information Exchange (IE)do you? Register now to join the conversation and learn more about setting up private topic areas. Need help navigating the IE? Check out this short how-to video.