ASPR TRACIE Express: February 2018 Updates

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Express

February 2018

Many of you work in or with facilities severely affected by a surge in seasonal illnesses associated with the flu and other viruses. ASPR TRACIE has received several calls from stakeholders asking for technical assistance with handling this surge. Due to the absence of summary documents on this topic, we rapidly developed the seasonal surge resource we highlight below in this issue of The Express. The rest of the issue includes links to flooding resources, information on recent and upcoming ASPR TRACIE webinars and events, and domain updates.

Our goal is help advance the preparedness, response, and recovery activities of healthcare entities across the nation and to make your jobs easier; please dont hesitate to reach out to us anytime with questions or suggestions.

New: Considerations for the Use of Temporary Care Locations for Managing Seasonal Patient Surge

This fact sheet describes the major considerations healthcare facility emergency planners should take into account when developing patient surge management solutions for longer-duration events, such as weeks to months of seasonal illness surge. These considerations are different than those of planning to handle surge from a no-notice, short duration event and can include standing up surge sites immediately within or adjacent to a hospital.

Resources on Flooding

Several areas in the country are experiencing flooding from late winter storms. We invite you to review several resources that can help you prepare for and respond to these types of events: Our Natural Disasters Topic Collection includes a section on lessons learned from flooding events and related plans, tools, and templates. After the Flood: Mold-Specific Resources includes information on cleaning up after floods and preventing, identifying, and getting rid of mold.

Upcoming and Recently Released ASPR TRACIE Webinars

On Wednesday, March 28, 2018 from 1:00-2:30 PM ET, we are hosting the webinar Healthcare Response to No-Notice Events: Las Vegas. Panelists will share experiences and recommendations that can help participants prepare for mass casualty incidents. The diverse panel will cover topics such as surge management, triage, prioritization of surgical care, incorporating pediatric providers in adult response operations, and mortuary issues. Due to high interest in this webinar, space is extremely limited; register now! If registration is closed, email us and we will send you the link to the recording within 24 hours of webinar completion.

Earlier this month, we hosted the Pediatric Issues in Disasters webinar, featuring professionals at the federal, state, regional, and local levels sharing tangible examples and best practices of how to integrate pediatric issues in healthcare preparedness plans, trainings, and exercises. You can now access the webinars PowerPoint presentation, webinar recording, and Q&A summary. You can also access past ASPR TRACIE webinars and videos.

Visit Us at the Preparedness Summit!

Check out our Quick Hit Session ASPR TRACIE: Resources to Help Build Resilience for the Expected and Unexpected on April 19 from 3:30-4:15 PM and our poster presentation The Best Disaster Medicine Literature of 2016 at the 2018 Preparedness Summit.

Domain Updates

Technical Resources
There are currently 53 comprehensively developed Topic Collections in the Technical Resources domain including the most recent collection on Social Media in Emergency Response. We also recently updated our Access and Functional Needs and Natural Disasters Topic Collections to highlight resources located on ASPRs 2017 Hurricane Response Resources for Children with Special Health Care Needs page.

Assistance Center
The Assistance Center has processed over 3,050 technical assistance requests from a variety of stakeholders (including over 700 related to the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule). You can also access the updated, categorized summary of many of the requests we have received. We encourage you to reach out if you need assistance.

Information Exchange
More than 4,200 of your colleagues use the Information Exchangedo you? Register now to join the conversation and learn more about setting up private topic areas. You can customize your experience even further by checking Notify Me of All Activity on each topic or thread you are interested in. You will then receive an email when there is an update. Need help navigating the IE? Check out this quick how-to video.