Hospital Prep

ASPR issues hospital preparedness planning guide

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has issued guidance to help state and local health care and public health preparedness planners identify gaps in preparedness, determine specific priorities, and develop plans for building and sustaining health care specific capabilities. The guidance is based on new national capabilities for the Hospital Preparedness Program beginning in fiscal year 2012, which align HPP and Public Health Emergency Preparedness program capabilities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued similar guidance for the PHEP program.

Metro areas not ready for nuke incidents: study

The country's 40 largest metropolitan areas are not well prepared to handle a non-power-plant related radiological or nuclear incident, such as a terrorist attack, according to a report from HHS' inspector general's office. Read more from Paul Barr in Modern Healthcare here.

The 2012 “Readiness on the River” Mississippi All-Hazards Emergency Preparedness Conference

The Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi Hospital Association present the 2012 “Readiness on the River” Mississippi All-Hazards Emergency Preparedness Conference in Natchez, Mississippi. The Conference will be held at the Natchez Convention Center, March 19-21, 2012. The Conference will consist of multiple guest speakers, workshops, and vendor exhibits all centered around various aspects of emergency preparedness.

Key Topics:

• Medical Reserve Corps
• Impacts of Mass Disasters
• Preparedness Leadership
• At Risk/Vulnerable Populations
• The Great Flood of 2011 and Recovery
• NIMS/ICS Training
• Interoperable Communications During Disasters

and more…

Who should attend?

State and local emergency management professionals, public health officials, EMS, hospital and law enforcement representatives, local government agencies, and other Emergency Management Professionals.

The Mississippi All-Hazards Emergency Preparedness Conference is funded through an Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response grant to the Mississippi State Department of Health in collaboration with the Mississippi Hospital Association – Health Education & Research Foundation, Office of Emergency Preparedness. There are NO conference registration fees for this conference.

You can register online at www.mhanet.org. Click on the 2012 MS All Hazards Preparedness Conference Link (on the left side of the page under “Education”) and follow the login instructions. If you are not a member of the site, you will need to create a new account. For login and account assistance, contact Diane Clift at dclift@mhanet.org.

Note: See the attached flier below for additional conference information including hotel accommodations. Also, attached, is a “quick registration tips” guide to assist you with the registration process.

Download 2012 All Hazards Preparedness Conference flier

Download Quick Registration Tips

Continue to visit the Mississippi Hospital Association Office of Emergency Preparedness Blog at http://mhanewsnow.typepad.com/prepared/ for updated conference news and information.

**Hotel Accommodations are the responsibility of the individual registrant.

Conference Hotel arrangements must be made by calling the phone numbers below:

Natchez Eola Hotel

601-445-6000

special code: MHA

rate: $98 plus taxes

 Isle of Capri Casino Hotel

1-800-843-4753

special code: MS.HOSP

rate: $79 plus taxes

 **Use special codes when making

reservations by phone at these two hotels

to receive special conference rates.

 

For other hotels in the area you may visit

www.visitnatchez.org

 

Contact Ashanti Smith at the Mississippi Hospital Association with any questions:

(601) 982-3219.

btadmin2@mhanet.org

 

Flu strain raises concerns about H5N1 outbreak

Infectious diseases experts are alarmed by two recent studies in which scientists engineered a strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that can be transmitted easily among mammals. Read more from American Medical News here.

Womack to step down as MEMA director

ike Womack says he will not continue to serve as director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency during the Phil Bryant administration. Read more from the Mississippi Business Journal here.

FREE Grant Funded Opportunity....SPACE is LIMITED!

There is a very exciting educational opportunity coming to Meridian, MS ,January 17th – 19th, 2012, at the Workforce Development Center. This course, PER 212- Operation Level Response to HazMat/WMD Incidents, is a free grant funded event from Texas Engineering Extension Service, a member of Texas A&M University System.

The course focuses on the unique personal protection challenges that responders face during a WMD or terrorist incident. Upon successful course completion, participants will be able to respond to a WMD/terrorism incident in a defensive mode and preclude the spread of a CBRNE hazard to the public and the environment.

Major course topics include: assessing CBRNE hazards, predicting the likely behavior of CBRNE materials, effectively operating and communicating in a unified command structure of ICS, determining detection equipment and personal protection equipment (PPE) needs, performing emergency decontamination, and identifying defensive strategies for a CBRNE incident. This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to obtain certification through NPQS (ProBoard) at the hazardous materials Operations level (NFPA 472). The course is delivered using lectures, interactive participant activities, performance-oriented skills stations, small group discussions, multimedia scenarios, and an end-of-course written and skills examinations.

Please review the letter with registration form attached below. Space will fill up quickly so please respond with registration information by January 2nd.
 
You can either contact Michael Laird or John Bates with any questions.

Michael K. Laird
Director of Organizational Development
Anderson Regional Medical Center
2124 14th Street
Meridian, MS 39301
W  601-703-3653
F   601-553-6861
mlaird@andersonregional.org

John Bates
Emergency Management Coordinator
601-703-3698
Jbates@andersonregional.org

Download PER212 Workshop Letter

 

Report details recent preparedness cuts by state

Programs that detect and respond to bioterrorism, disease outbreaks and natural or accidental disasters are at risk due to federal and state budget cuts, according to a new report from Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For example, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. had cuts in the Hospital Preparedness Program from fiscal year 2010 to 2011, the report notes.

The American Hospital Association recently voiced support for the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011 (S. 1855) and the Medical Surge Capacity Act (S. 1854). Approved this month by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, S. 1855 would reauthorize the Hospital Preparedness Program, the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals, the Medical Reserve Corps and other critical preparedness activities through 2016. The Medical Surge Capacity Act would enact changes to enhance medical surge capacity in response to lessons learned since 2006.

Senate panel passes preparedness bill

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Dec. 14 approved the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011 (S. 1855), American Hospital Association-supported legislation that reauthorizes the Hospital Preparedness Program, the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals, the Medical Reserve Corps and other critical preparedness activities through 2016. Among other provisions, the bill clarifies allowable activities for recipients of HPP funds and permits national collaboration among HPP-funded entities.

The legislation now must be reconciled with a House-passed version of the bill (H.R. 2405).

HHS: New plant expected to speed production of flu vaccine in emergency

The Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 12 announced the launch of the first U.S. facility to use a faster and more flexible technology to make flu vaccine. A public-private partnership of HHS and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc., the plant in Holly Springs, N.C., can create vaccine using cultured animal cells instead of the conventional process using fertilized eggs.

In a flu pandemic, the new facility may be able to produce 25% of the vaccine needed in the U.S., HHS said. "The pandemic readiness of this facility is a major milestone in national preparedness for pandemic influenza and other diseases," said Robin Robinson, director of HHS' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

REE Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional Training and Exam in Meridian and Southaven in February

The Mississippi Hospital Association and the Mississippi State Department of Health are pleased to offer an invitation for you to apply for ASPR grant funded admission to the Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP) Training and Exam.

Tell everyone who might benefit from this course! •

• February 6 & 7, 2012 Rush Hospital Training Center, Meridian, MS (20 seats)
• February 9 & 10, 2012 Baptist Memorial Hospital – Desoto, Southaven, MS (30 seats)

This training is provided through an Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) grant through MHA and MSDH. There are no fees for this training and exam. Pre-registration through the MS Hospital Association Hospital Preparedness Program with the registration form attached below is required in order for the costs to be paid by the ASPR grant funds. Do not apply directly through the Certification Board Website.

Day one of review class for each MS training session runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with breakfast and lunch included). Day two for each MS training session runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with breakfast and lunch included) including three hours in the afternoon session allotted for completion of the CHEP Certification exam. The CHEP exam is a comprehensive closed book examination of 100 to 120 multiple-choice items.

Candidates are provided with a self-study materials and practice exam by VW International, Inc. which will be emailed to you from Joyce Pearson once your application has been approved by the Board. Candidates can sit for the certification exam in conjunction with the day and a half CHEP review class, conducted periodically at varying locations.

This training requires individual home study prior to the training sessions and full attendance at days one and two of the 16 hour class.

Download CHEP February 2012 Training Flier