Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary Care …

1 Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary care ProvidersEmergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary care ProvidersTable Of Contents Introduction Section 1 Background 1-1 Development Of The Toolkit 1-2 Purpose 1-2 Acknowledgements 1-2 Preparing For The Unexpected Section 2 Five Planning Basics 2-1 National Planning Strategy 2-1 The Planning Process 2-2 Emergency Operations Plan 2-2 Responding To An Event 2-3 Decision Trees 2-3 Recovery Efforts 2-3 Continuity Of Operations Plans 2-4 Evaluation And Long-Term Rebuilding 2-4 Additional Resources 2-4 Getting And Staying Connected Section 3 Getting Connected 3-1 Staying Connected 3-1 Government Agencies 3-1 Community Partners 3-1 Volunteers 3-2 Providers And Staff During An Emergency 3-2 Additional Resources 3-3 Trainings And Exercises Section 4 General Preparedness Trainings 4-1 Tabletop Exercises 4-2 Hurricane Disaster Scenario Tabletop Exercise 4-2 Ice Storm Scenario Tabletop Exercise 4-7 Fact Sheets Section 5 Blackouts 5-1 Chemical Attacks 5-1 Earthquakes 5-2 Fire 5-2 Floods 5-3 Hurricanes 5-3 Landslides 5-4 Thunderstorms & Lightning 5-4 Winter Storms 5-5 Additional Resources 5-5 Mental Health 5-6 Bioterrorism 5-18 Templates & Resources Section 6 Emergency Operations Plan Template 6-1 Continuity Of Operations Plan Template 6-41 Patient Resources Creating A Family Plan 6-70 Personal

2 Preparedness Checklist 6-72 Household Information Sheet 6-74 Wallet Emergency Card 6-76 Appendix & Supplemental Documents Section 7 The National Incident Management System 7-1 The Planning Process 7-2 Practice Communications 7-3 Partnerships & Building Connections 7-4 Emergency Management MoU 7-5 Light blue underlined text throughout document = dynamic linksIntroductionEmergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary care Providers1-1 Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary care Providers ( Toolkit ) is one way to prepare practices for emergencies and natural disasters. This Toolkit draws from a variety of sources, including government recommendations and reports, peer-reviewed research, and most importantly, the experiences and best practices of patients, providers and other local, regional and national experts in the area of Emergency Preparedness .

3 The Toolkit is meant to be scalable and usable by practices of varied sizes however not all documents will be applicable to all practice sizes. This Toolkit is meant to be used as a guide for practice readiness, planning and response for emergencies and disasters as well as a document to assist communities in the aftermath of an event. Finally, the Toolkit is designed to be a user-friendly resource that includes fact sheets, templates, trainings, other resources and multiple references for further information. Background The Toolkit is the result of a partnership between two programs at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM): Center for Community Health and Service Learning (CCHSL) with funding provided by a sub grant of the John Hopkins University Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response (PACER), from the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Center for Primary care , through the Regional Coordinating Center for Hurricane Response (RCC) grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health.

4 CCHSL was created in 2000 with the vision of becoming a connected, caring community of lifelong learners who provide valuable and meaningful service to underserved communities in Metro Atlanta. The Center has played an integral role in the development of the Nation s future public health leaders by connecting academics with service-learning, community service and civic engagement. PACER is a program of Johns Hopkins University s Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) that seeks to improve the nation s Preparedness and the ability to respond to disasters through rigorous scientific research focused on medical and public health Preparedness strategies, response capabilities and surge capacity. It consists of a consortium of leading universities, premier corporations with extensive research and development infrastructure, and key government and national organizations from around the RCC provided support for mitigating the public health Emergency impact of Hurricane Katrina on high disparity populations in the Southeast and South Central regions of the United States, as well as, other Centers of Excellence in states identified as Public Health Emergency States.

5 Based on the different resources from each program, researchers at MSM identified the need for an Emergency Preparedness Toolkit that met the needs of Primary care providers, specifically those who practice in areas that are disproportionally impacted by ongoing health disparities and areas that lack a solid community health system. 1 Millin, M. G., Jenkins, , & Kirsch, T. (2006). A comparative analysis of two external health care disaster responses following Hurricane Katrina. Prehospital Emergency care , 10, 451-456. Introduction Over the past decade, recent events have highlighted the need for communities to prepare comprehensive Emergency management strategies and plans. Whether they face ice storms, hurricanes, flash floods, tornados or bridge collapses, Americans are increasingly recognizing the need to better prepare for disasters.

6 At the same time, the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCACHO) has recognized this need in the form of Management of Environment of care Standard EC , which states The organization plans for managing the consequences of emergencies. Finally, experiences and research1 support that the majority of health concerns, immediately after a disaster, are related to treatment of chronic health conditions and immunizations, both of which are normally treated in the Primary care of the Toolkit Several different sources informed the contents of this Toolkit . Among them were: Search of peer-reviewed literature Landscape analysis of currently existing materials, from government agencies and not-for-profit groups, that assist individuals or communities in preparing for/responding to natural disasters Key informant interviews with those directly impacted by natural disasters as well as local, state and national experts and healthcare providers who specialize in the areas Emergency Preparedness Focus groups with patients and providers in areas that have been impacted by natural disasters Survey of providers in areas that have been directly impacted by natural disasters The ongoing feedback, from members of the advisory board, based upon their experiences.

7 The contents in this Toolkit provide a broad range of options for Primary care Emergency Preparedness programs and should be adapted to fit the needs of each practice. The information presented is not meant to be comprehensive. While the materials are meant to be current and timely, new materials are continually being developed. For that reason, each section contains a listing of resources that may provide additional information to best serve the needs of a specific practice or community. Purpose The purpose of this Toolkit is to help providers develop Emergency Preparedness plans that address the specific needs of Primary care practices and their patients. Acknowledgements Emergency Preparedness Toolkit Advisory Board Members Since the beginning of this project, the advisory board members have met on a regular basis to provide feedback on the Toolkit .

8 Its members include:Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSAG rady Health System Atlanta, GALieutenant General (Ret.) Russel L. Honor Baton Rouge, LAMollie Melbourne, MPH, MEPN ational Association of Community Health Centers Washington, DCLaveta Moody-Thomas, MPH, MSW, CHESM ississippi State Department of Health Jackson, MS Romeatrius Moss, PhD, RN, MSN, APHN-BCMississippi Gulf Coast Black Nurses Association Gulfport, MS Allan Noonan, MD, MPHM organ State University Baltimore, MDColonel (Ret.) Evan SpicelandBaton Rouge, LAAl WrightFulton County Department of Health Services, Office of Emergency Preparedness Atlanta, GAEmergency Preparedness Toolkit for Primary care Providers1-3 Data Collection Partners This Toolkit was informed by data collected in the form of key informant interviews, focus groups with patients and providers, and provider surveys.

9 The following organizations provided assistance in allowing the research team to collect data. Coastal Family Health Center, Inc, Biloxi, MS Franklin Primary Health Center, Inc., Mobile, AL Georgia State Medical Association, Atlanta, GA Howard University College of Medicine, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Washington, DC Louisiana State Primary care Association, Baton Rouge, LA Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, Madison, MS Mississippi Gulf Coast Black Nurses Association, Gulfport, MS Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Atlanta, GA Southeast Regional Clinicians Network, Atlanta, GA Funding Support This work was supported by the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Minority Health CFDA no ; National Institutes of Health, National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities under Grant No.

10 MPCMP061011-01-07 and US Department of Homeland Security under Award 2010-ST-061-PA001 through a sub award from The John Hopkins University. The views and conclusions are those of the Morehouse School of Medicine and do not represent the official views or policies of the supporting agencies. Preparing for the Unexpected2-1 Five Planning BasicsPreparedness Tip #1: Know Your Local Team Learn about the Emergency plans that have been established in your area by local government. Contact government agencies to see how you can become a participant in the planning or response efforts. (Click to access: Get Connected Section) Preparedness Tip #2: Promote a Culture of Preparedness Create a yearly plan for trainings and exercises. Schedule staff meetings to share Emergency Preparedness efforts at your facility.