Coalition Partner Survey
 

This survey asks you to gauge the knowledge, skills, and ability (KSA) levels of your facility's key staff regarding emergency response capability functions. This survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. The intended use of this information is to help inform future training and exercise activities for the REDi HCC Regional Multi-Year Training & Exercise Plan. 

Please note that this survey is not intended to measure compliance to any federal or state rules or regulations; we are interested in information that could inform identifying training needs to better meet Regional HCC member needs. 

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Casey Schooley, HCC Training and Exercise Coordinator, at 509.324.1538 or cschooley@srhd.org.
 

May 2019 REDi HCC minutes and details
 

Thank you to everyone who attended the May REDi HCC General Meetings. During the meetings, we engaged in an evacuation microdrill, introduced the CST Toolkit, shared agency updates, learned from the Frozen Frenzy exercise AAR video, discussed the REDi HCC planning updates and processes, and heard several HCC updates. We welcomed Timothy Churchill as our new Communications Coordinator, congratulated Carolyn Cartwright as the new Program Coordinator, and anticipated the introduction of Stephanie Crawford, our new Planning Coordinator. Thank you all for sharing your stories, skills, and expertise throughout the meeting. This opportunity to share supports each of us as we work together to build awareness and capacity around emergency preparedness and response across the region.
 
The meeting documentation, Frozen Frenzy video, and other handouts can be found on our HCC website Resource Library page under General Meetings.

• Wenatchee GM, May 29, 2019: Agenda, Attendance, PowerPoint, Notes
• Tri-Cities GM, May 28, 2019: Agenda, Attendance, PowerPoint, Notes
• Spokane GM, May 23rd, 2019: Agenda, Attendance, PowerPoint, Notes

A sincere thank you to Krista Zabreznik from North Valley Hospital, Doug Jones from Confluence Health (DMCC), and Newt Moats from Quincy Valley Medical Center for presenting to the Coalition lessons learned from the Frozen Frenzy exercise for future learning through a phenomenal video. Over 15 organizations participated in the exercise with involvement from hospitals, long-term care, skilled nursing facilities, public health, and emergency management partners. The exercise focused on five primary objectives: patient placement coordination, communications, patient tracking, situational awareness, and medical surge. Recognition goes to North Valley Hospital and NV Extended Care for being the first healthcare facility to use the patient tracking module on WATrac for an evacuation scenario exercise. Stay tuned for the coming After-Action Report for Frozen Frenzy.
 
If you have ideas about content, are interested in hosting a General Meeting at your facility, or are interested in serving as a General Meeting Facilitator, please email us at hcc@srhd.org. We love to hear from all of our partners.
 
The next General Meetings will be held September 19^th, 24^th, and 25^th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Please rsvp here. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Response
 

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a large country in Central Africa with more than 85 million people, continues to grow and threaten other countries. The outbreak was declared in August 2018 in DRC, and new cases continue to be reported daily. As of June 11, 2019, there have been 2,084 cases and 1,396 deaths reported in DRC and now there are three confirmed travel-associated cases in Uganda. 

This outbreak is the largest to occur in DRC and is now the second largest Ebola outbreak in the history of the disease. The outbreak is occurring in a highly insecure environment, which complicates public health response activities and increases the risk of disease spread. This special webinar from CDC EPIC and CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases will discuss the current situation and how organizations sending US-based workers to areas with Ebola can ensure the health and safety of their workers before, during, and after deployment. Please join us for this webinar on June 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Closed captioning will be available. Participants can earn CEU, CHES, and CPH continuing education units.

 

Virtual seminars, workshops, and tabletop exercises starting this month
 

As the Department of Health begins to prepare for the Full-Scale exercise of the Ebola/Special Pathogens program for March 2020, they will be conducting virtual seminars, workshops, and tabletop exercises starting this month through February 2020. These are designed to familiarize people with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and Other Special Pathogens Disease (OSPD) Statewide Response Framework.

For specific questions, contact Matt Simons, EID Training and Exercise Coordinator, Washington State Department of Health, 360-489-5943 or matt.simons@doh.wa.gov.
 

Health and Emergency Preparedness Training Calendar for June 2019