February 2024 Newsletter
Welcome to the Vermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition Newsletter
As a valued partner of the Vermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition (VHEPC), you will receive this quarterly newsletter highlighting coalition business, upcoming events and preparedness resources. As a reminder, we recommend that you bookmark the VHEPC website calendar and check it often. We are continually curating the calendar with meetings, trainings and exercises.
Our Mission
Our coalition is a multi-disciplinary partnership collaborating with our members, stakeholders, and surrounding communities to improve and expand emergency preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities. The VHEPC works with healthcare entities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies in the state of Vermont.
VHEPC Announcements and Upcoming Events
VHEPC February Coalition Meeting
The Vermont Healthcare Coalition, EMS & Preparedness Conference
To be held in-person June 12th - 17th, 2024 with a Healthcare Coalition Focused Day scheduled for Friday, June 14th!
Additional information coming soon.
Save the Date!
Important Message From the Vermont Emergency Management Regarding the Total Solar Eclipse Planning
Northern Vermont will experience a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. This unique event is expected to draw 50,000 to 200,000 visitors to that area for the day.
A partial solar eclipse will begin at 2:14 p.m.; at 3:26 p.m., a total eclipse will darken Vermont's daytime sky, lasting about 3 minutes. The phenomenon will continue as a partial eclipse until 4:37 p.m. The area impacted by the eclipse will be an east-to-west line from St. Johnsbury, Barre, and Middlebury north to the Canadian border. A map of the area can be found HERE.
Municipalities should plan for possible stress on their emergency services, injuries, increased traffic, and in some cases, extreme traffic issues. Other considerations could include where visitors park their vehicles (both legally and illegally), the impact on public lands during mud season, wildfire risks, and more. Many schools in the area plan to close early that day.
Eclipse Planning Check-in meetings are currently taking place with the Vermont League of Cities & Towns. The webinar series is not currently available for everyone to attend, however, a recording from the first Eclipse Planning Webinar Series can be viewed here.
Should your city or town host a special eclipse event, you are asked to notify the state for our planning purposes. The state is not hosting any events.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Offers Exercise Support through the National Exercise Program (NEP)
The FEMA NEP is now accepting requests for exercise support. The NEP offers no-cost assistance to SLTT jurisdictions for exercise design, development, execution and evaluation to validate capabilities across all mission areas. To be considered for the 2024 round of the NEP, applications must be submitted by Friday, March 1. Applications are open to all SLTT governments. Instructions on how to submit a request for support are provided on FEMA’s National Exercise Program website.
Throughout the month of January, FEMA will host webinars to discuss the exercise support process. All webinars will offer the same content. To view webinar dates and to register, visit FEMA’s webinar registration page.
New Training Opportunities
Alzheimer’s Association New England Virtual Family Conference
March 1st-2nd, 2024
March 1st: Programs for individuals living with dementia
March 2nd: Programs for Family Caregivers
Please join the Alzheimer’s Association New England for their free, virtual family conference for those living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and their families. Sessions will feature notable guest speakers and include a panel of persons living with early stage dementia. Registrants must create a free account to register for the event.
Radiation Emergency Medicine REAC/TS Course
This three-day course is intended to teach physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and other healthcare providers treatment and care of patients involved in radiological or nuclear incidents. First responders, emergency management and public health professionals may also find the course beneficial. The course emphasizes the practical aspects of initial hospital management of irradiated and/or contaminated patients through lectures and hands-on practical exercises.
LOCATION: Our facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
DATES: March 5-7, 2024, April 2-4, 2024 & June 11-13, 2024
REGISTRATION: Links available on the REAC/TS website.
Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals (AHEPP) Webinar Recording
In the beginning of January, the AHEPP Directors presented a webinar entitled, "AHEPP Professional Standards, Certification and Annual Conference". Because we know many of you are interested in this topic, we recorded the content. If you were unable to attend the live event, please take the time to view the recording here.
Links to some of the materials discussed within the presentation are listed below.
If you are ready to register for the virtual or in-person exam being held at the end of February, the registration can be found here.
HHS/ASPR Project ECHO Clinical Readiness Rounds Sessions
ASPR's Office of Health Care Readiness (OHCR), in partnership with Project ECHO and dozens of other collaborating organizations, is planning to launch a new, virtual, peer-to-peer learning series, the HHS/ASPR Project ECHO Clinical Readiness Rounds. The series will focus on sharing clinical challenges and successes in preparing for and responding to disasters from all threats and will build off of the successes from the prior partnership between OHCR and Project ECHO in conducing the COVID-19 Clinical Rounds between March 2020 and February 2022.
Clinical Readiness Rounds sessions will occur every other Tuesday from 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET, with the first session, entitled "Where Are We? Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going?" to take place next Tuesday, February 6. Select here to register for the Clinical Readiness Rounds.
Vermont Dialysis Community Joint Training Session
The January 17th Joint Training Session was a collaborative meeting where the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Program, End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network, and the Vermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition shared information and resources with dialysis providers from Vermont.
The recording is now available to review here. We invite dialysis providers and response partners from Vermont, and those who were unable to attend the session, to review and share the recording with others who may benefit from the Vermont Dialysis Community.
Below is a list of the KCER resources shared during training:
Vermont Learning Management System
Most trainings require a Learning Management System(LMS) account. If you don’t have an account, you can register for one here.
Vermont Local Emergency Management Director Course: This course will familiarize Local Emergency Management Directors (EMD) and Coordinators (EMC) with major roles, responsibilities, and “how to do it” guidance, across all four phases of Emergency Management.
LOCATION: Virtual
DATE/TIME: February 14-15, 2024, 1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
REGISTRATION: via State Learning Management System here.State Emergency Operation Center Orientation: The purpose of this training is to provide an overview of the State Emergency Operations Center. This course is ONLY available to those who staff the Vermont State Emergency Operations Center.
LOCATION: DPS Headquarters, Waterbury, VT
DATE/TIME: February 20, 2024, 1:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
PREREQUISITES: ICS-100 and WebEOC Sate User Training REGISTRATION: via State Learning Management System here.PER -340: Active Threat Integrated Response Course
This course is performance-level, direct delivery designed to improve integration between law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) during active threat incidents. The course provides law enforcement officers with key medical skills based on tactical emergency casualty care (TECC) guidelines, which can be used at the point of injury to increase survivability of victims in active threat incidents. Participants will discuss rescue task forces (RTFs), basic hemorrhage control and airway management, and organization of a unified response.
LOCATION: Barre City Elementary and Middle School, Barre, VT
DATE/TIME: February 28, 2024 -March 1, 2024 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. each day
REGISTRATION: required Louisiana State University National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (LSU NCBRT) here. Use Access Code: NCBRT340
Ongoing Training Options
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
CISA is the operational lead for federal cybersecurity and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience. CISA works with partners to defend against today’s threats and collaborate to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future, including a broad array of online training options.
Vermont EMS for Children 2024 Case Review and PECC Open Forum
Join the Vermont Emergency Medical Services for Children for a monthly Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC) open forum followed by a case review:
UPCOMING DATES: January 24th, February 20th, March 26th, April 23rd, May 23rd
TIME: 6:30 pm - PECC Open Forum, 7:00 pm - Case Review
REGISTRATION: Via Zoom, Meeting ID: 367 967 6382, Passcode: EMSC
National Incident Management System Training
FEMA provides free emergency response trainings for those wishing to improve their training and knowledge in National Incident Management System (NIMS). The FEMA website provides more detail stating “The Emergency Management Institute works in collaboration with the whole community to provide training in support of the NIMS Training Program. The Preparedness Branch coordinates EMI’s NIMS training efforts with the National Integration Center (NIC) to integrate NIMS doctrine and training with whole community needs.
See link below for more information and to view available trainings.
Regional Disaster Health Response System- Regional Webinars
The Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS) envisions a coordinated, resilient and seamless system of partners working together to ensure the healthcare needs of the public can be met in times of disaster. At all levels of the RDHRS, activities aim to optimize clinical surge capacity and, provide appropriate clinical and healthcare operational expertise to support healthcare disaster response planning. Within the Regional Webinars, specific topics including Family Reunification, the Ebola Outbreak, Pediatric Respiratory Illness and much more have been recorded for healthcare education!
Access the online webinars, below!
State of New Hampshire Department of Safety- Regional Training Opportunities Bulletin
January 15, 2024
This is a list of trainings available from the State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, and our regional partners.
Partner Resources
Pacific ADA Updates
January 2024 Highlights
Join us at our ADA Virtual Conference on February 27 and 28, 2024! It's a great learning opportunity for healthcare providers, employers, HR staff, ADA coordinators, and other professionals and service providers. To sign up and get more details, visit the Conference website.
ASTHO Public Health Weekly
Week of January 22, 2024 Highlights
Improving Access to Risk-Appropriate Care Through a Partnership Between Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics: The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations as well as a growing infant mortality rate. In a recent interview, public health experts discuss how obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics can work together to provide risk-appropriate care for pregnant people. Watch the video now.
ASTHO Welcomes New Leadership to Executive Team: Khalilah LeGrand and Tabatha Offutt-Powell have joined ASTHO's executive leadership team. LeGrand now serves as vice president of communications and public relations and Offutt-Powell serves as vice president of public health data modernization and informatics. Combined, both bring decades of public health experience to ASTHO.
ASPR Health Care Readiness Bulletin
Week of January 29, 2024
This bulletin provides the latest news and information related to ASPR's Health Care Readiness Programs, in addition to links to a variety of emergency preparedness and response tools and resources. View bulletin here.
EMSC Pulse
December 2023 Edition
Featured Resource: EIIC is excited to announce a new pediatric education and advocacy kit (PEAK). PEAK: Child Abuse will help hospital and prehospital practitioners, in partnership with patients and families, identify and manage children with suspected physical abuse. PEAK: Child Abuse features pragmatic, synthesized, and multidisciplinary resources, including new bottom-line recommendations, a simulation kit, podcasts, a learning module, and more. All resources are free and open access.
The ASPR TRACIE
Express: January 2024 Highlights
Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire (Webinar)
Electronic Health Records and Downtime Procedures (Topic Collection)
Determining Hospital Supply Needs and Likely Usage during an Incident (Webinar)
Please reach out to ASPR TRACIE if you need technical assistance.
Vermont Emergency Management Newsletter
Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) sends out a monthly newsletter that informs Emergency Preparedness workers about statewide trainings, exercises, conferences and other activities. To sign up for their monthly newsletter, please click here or view the most recent VEM Newsletter below.
New Hampshire Monthly Training Newsletter
State of New Hampshire
Most of the classes are tuition free and help prepare the responders, citizens, volunteers, and decision makers to prepare, prevent, mitigate, respond and recover from emergencies. You can get the most updated list of training for HSEM at here.
To view the most recent NH Newsletter, please click on the button below.
Region 1 Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS)
The Region 1 Disaster Health Response System (R1 RDHRS) exists to develop innovative mechanisms that link experts in healthcare disaster response with other key healthcare, governmental and community partners and stakeholders to improve coordination of planning and response activities and support optimal patient care during disasters.
For more information on their resources and services, visit the site linked on the button below.
IPRO QIN-QIO Upcoming Events
QIN-QIO
The IPRO QIN-QIO works to ensure high-quality, safe health care in New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
To become involved with their trainings and resources, enroll with them below
