TRACIE
TRACIE
The Express
August 2017

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 by supporting our communities' ability to withstand adversity, strengthening our health and response systems, and enhancing national health security. ASPR's Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) meets the information and technical assistance needs of a wide variety of partners and stakeholders (e.g., regional ASPR staff, health care coalitions, health care entities, and emergency and traditional health care providers). Access our fact sheet for more information.

 

*As we were going to press with this issue, the National Weather Service issued advisories regarding Hurricane Harvey. Please check out our Hurricane Resources at Your Fingertips and After the Flood: Mold-Specific Resources documents for helpful preparedness and response information.  

 

The ASPR TRACIE team spent the summer collaborating with our Subject Matter Expert Cadre to develop resources that can facilitate and enrich our stakeholders’ preparedness and response activities. This issue of The Express includes links to new tools for health care coalitions (HCCs), information on upcoming ASPR TRACIE webinars, recent webinar recordings, links to new resources, reminders regarding the CMS Emergency Preparedness (EP) Rule, and an update on cybersecurity .  

New Tools for HCCs Available

HCCs work closely with local health care organizations, and public and private sector response organizations to help:

  • Patients receive the care they need at the right place and right time;  
  • Decrease deaths, injuries, and illnesses resulting from emergencies or disasters; and
  • Promote health care system resilience in the aftermath of an emergency or major disaster. 

ASPR TRACIE recently collaborated with the ASPR National Healthcare Preparedness Program (NHPP) to develop a set of tools and templates for HCCs that can help improve preparedness efforts, decision-making processes, and operational planning. Access this fact sheet for more information and links to each tool. While most ASPR TRACIE resources are applicable to HCCs and other stakeholders, we also created a new page to highlight select tools and other HCC resources, including the 50+ HCC plans and templates vetted through our Subject Matter Expert Cadre. We will continue to develop new tools and templates as requested and needed.

Save the Date: Upcoming Webinar! 
The new ASPR TRACIE HCC tools and templates will be featured in a webinar on September 14, New Resources to Help Improve Health Care Coalition Preparedness. This fifth webinar in our series for HCCs features Melissa Harvey (Director, ASPR HPP) and Dr. John Hick discussing how these tools were developed and how they can be used by HCCs and their partners. Register now—space is limited!  
Newly-Released ASPR TRACIE Webinars

ASPR TRACIE hosted Growing and Sustaining: A Discussion About Healthcare Coalition Financial Models on June 20. During this webinar, speakers from HCCs across the country shared their experiences using various financial models to sustain their health care coalitions. 

 

Together with the National Ebola Training and Education Center, we held the Highly Pathogenic Infectious Disease Exercise Planning for Regional Transport webinar on August 23. Speakers shared tips and lessons learned from recent regional transport exercises in Maryland, Texas, and Nevada.              

ASPR TRACIE Tutorials
Ever wish you could comment on an ASPR TRACIE resource, rank your favorites, or share a comment? Need technical assistance but aren’t sure how to request it? Looking for quick access to resources on a certain topic? Check out the newly-released ASPR TRACIE tutorials, a set of short videos that can help you make the best of your experience. 
Coming Soon
Time flies when you’re working with amazing partners! ASPR TRACIE is celebrating two years of service this September. Be on the lookout for a new issue of ASPR TRACIE’s Newsletter, The Exchange, where we hear from ASPR’s new leader, Dr. Robert Kadlec, and our authors look back over the past few years and forward at the challenges and opportunities facing the emergency health care preparedness field.
CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule Reminders

In addition to the Advanced Copy of CMS Interpretive Guidance, you can now download the CMS’ Surveyor Tool, which illustrates whether each of the 17 provider types is affected by specific Code of Federal Regulations citations.

 

The ASPR TRACIE CMS EP Rule: Resources at Your Fingertips document includes links to helpful resources, and the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response CMS EP Rule Crosswalk can help planners understand the association between the CMS EP Rule Conditions of Participation and existing regulatory and accreditation standards. 

Cybersecurity Update
The National Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center is a trusted community of critical infrastructure owners and operators within the Health Care and Public Health Sector. Working in coordination with ASPR and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Center’s goal is to increase the cyber situational awareness for organizations of all sizes within the Health Care and Public Health Sector. The Center recently launched a website dedicated to improving cyber resiliency for Healthcare and Public Health Sector Information Technology professionals such as Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, Analysts and Informatics Operations. Please visit their site and subscribe for daily news briefs and Threat Level Protocol Green/ White Reports. Questions or comments on cyber issues should be directed to the ASPR CIP team
Domain Updates
Technical Resources Icon Technical Resources
There are currently 46 comprehensively developed Topic Collections in the Technical Resources domain, including the most recently released collection on HCC Administrative Issues. Be on the lookout for our next collections which focus on Volunteer Management and Trauma Care and Triage. Follow this link to access all comprehensively developed collections.
Assistance Center Icon Assistance Center
The Assistance Center processed nearly 2,200 technical assistance (TA) requests from a variety of stakeholders (including more than 500 related to the CMS EP Rule). We maintain a summary of many of the TA requests received, listed alphabetically. We encourage you to reach out if you need assistance. 
Information Exchange Icon Information Exchange
Join nearly 3,500 of your colleagues in the Information Exchange and check out the full redacted versions of ASPR TRACIE’s responses to select TA requests and ASPR TRACIE webinars. Register now to join the conversation or learn more about setting up private topic areas. Need help navigating the IE? Check out this quick how-to video
Search, Support, Share
Search, Support, Share