H1N1: Hospital Readiness in Georgia

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• H1N1 Hospital Readiness in Georgia
• Georgia Society of Hospital Engineers
• Quarterly Meeting - 9/11/09
• Adrianne Feinberg, Project Manager,
• Bioterrorism Preparedness

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Overview

• Hospital Preparedness Program
• Flu Readiness
• Challenges

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• The Georgia Hospital Association
• is a nonprofit trade association
• made up of member health systems,
• hospitals and individuals in administrative and
• decision-making positions within those
  institutions.
• Founded in 1929, GHA serves 170 hospitals
• in Georgia.
• Its purpose is to promote the health and
  welfare of the public
• through the development of better hospital care
  
• for all of Georgia's citizens.

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Hospital Preparedness Program

• Established in 2002
• The Hospital Preparedness Programs (HPP) mission
  is to ready hospitals and other healthcare
  systems, in collaboration with other partners, to
  deliver coordinated and effective care to victims
  of terrorism and other public health
  emergencies.

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Public Health
ASPR
GEMA
OTHER
Healthcare Community Partners (GHA,
Hospitals, Community Health Centers, EMS,
Nursing Homes)
Public Health, Districts, County Public
Health, Emergency Preparedness Response
Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS, National Guard,
Public Works, Federal, State and Local
Agencies
State, County, and City Emergency Management Agen
cies
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• Mutual Aid Compact
• Hospitals agree, in the event of a Disaster,
• to use best efforts to make clinical staff,
  medical and
• general supplies, including pharmaceuticals, and
  
• biomedical equipment available to each other in
• accordance with the operating procedures.

Some hospitals in Alabama, Florida, Tennessee
now participate in Georgias Mutual Aid Compact
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The Mutual Aid Task Force

• Supports an organized response by hospitals if a
• major disaster occurred which overwhelmed the
• capabilities of a hospital or group of
  hospitals
• Meets quarterly and consists of representatives
• from each Georgia Hospital

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Mutual Aid Task Force Membership Includes
Representatives From

• Public Health the Division of
• Emergency Preparedness
• Response
• Georgia Association
• for Primary Health Care
• Georgia Healthcare
• Association (nursing homes)

• Georgia Association
• for Home Health Agencies
• Georgia Emergency
• Management Agency
• State Emergency
• Medical System

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• Regional Coordinating Hospital (RCH)
• Coordinates patient transfers and other
• essential services during an event
• Serves as a facilitator and advocate of the
• effected organization related to its
  needs
• during the time of an emergency
• Georgia has 15 RCHs in 14 regions

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B
RCH Regions
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Comparison of RCH, GEMA, EMS Public Health
Regions
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Public Health 18 Districts
GHA 14 Regions
GEMA 8 Regions
EMS 10 Regions
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Disaster Response Strategies Facilitated by the
Georgia Division of Emergency Preparedness
Response

• Logistics/Equipment
• Supplies (Chempacks)
• Equipment (ventilators, cots)
• Education and Training 
• Exercises and drills
• Visual Dx (illness recognition tool)
• Communications
• Southern Linc Radios
• Ham Radios
• LiveProcess (event communication tool)

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• ESAR/VHP
• (Emergency System for Advanced Registration of
  Voluntary Health Professionals)
• Also known as ServGA
• Is an electronic system for registering
• and verifying professionals who wish to
• volunteer during a disaster

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Emergency Preparedness and Response Solutions for
Healthcare

• A centralized web-based platform
• Enables communication between
• hospitals during a disaster or exercise

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GHA Services/Tools
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GHA911 Website

• Helps Georgia hospitals, as well as local and
  state agencies, keep informed of vital news and
  information related to disaster readiness
• Offers tools and resources to assist hospitals in
  their disaster preparedness and mutual aid
  planning

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Diversion Tool on GHA 911
NEDOCS Calculator
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(No Transcript)
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Here you will soon be able to convey that you are
having facility problems that may be effecting
your diversion status
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Disaster Readiness Line

• Is a weekly publication that provides information
  and articles on disaster related topics
• Includes Telnet programming, CDC updates,
  training and education events and meeting
  schedules
• Is e-mailed and posted on the GHA 911 website

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Flu Line

• Started this week
• E-mailed every Thursday
• Provides legal, clinical, and resource updates

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Drills Exercises

• Dedicated Drills and
• Exercises Coordinator
• Focuses on assisting
• hospitals in planning
• participating in state-
• wide and local drills

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Pandemic Flu
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The World Health Organization declared an H1N1
flu pandemic on JUNE 11, 2009 the first global
flu epidemic in 41 years.
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Flu History Briefs

• There have been 3 flu pandemics in the 20th
  century
• 1918 the Spanish Flu
• 40-50 million deaths worldwide
• Mostly healthy young adults
• 1957 Asian Flu
• 2 million deaths globally
• 1st wave effected children second wave effected
  
• the elderly
• 1968 Hong Kong Flu
• 1 million deaths
• Mostly effected the elderly

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Preparedness Activities

• 2006 Pan Flu Grant
• Plans were written
• Antibiotic caches were bought
• PPE Surge Equipment were purchased
• A Pan Flu exercise was completed
• 2007 Equipment
• Portable Ventilators (Vortran Newport)
• Mass Fatality Kits
• 2008 Equipment
• Surge beds
• Minte Isolation Units

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Preparedness Activities

• 2009
• SNS (Strategic National Stockpile)
• Antivirals
• Will N95s be provided from SNS ?
• Replenishment of antibiotic caches
• possible

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Challenges

• GRITS (GA Registry of Immunization Transactions
  Services compliance
• Weekly reporting of aggregate information (ie
  age
• group and s)
• 10 day reporting of person specific data
• Surge Management of the ER
• Alternate care site opening
• Visitation policy changes to limit exposure
• PPE (ie N-95s) and antiviral availability
• Guidance for use of surgical masks instead of
  N-95s for droplet precautions

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Challenges

• Staffing
• Compliance with vaccination (H1N1 seasonal)
  recommendations
• Staffing shortages due to illness or work volume
  increases
• Employee exposure management when exposure occurs
  in the community

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Questions ?
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Resources
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Helpful Websites
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(No Transcript)
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State portals Alabama http//www.servealabama.go
v and http//www.gov.state.la.us/ Florida
http//www.fccs.org   Louisiana
http//www.volunteerlouisiana.gov and
http//www.gov.state.la.us/ and
http//www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/ Mississippi 
http//www.volunteermississippi.org Texas
http//www.texasresponds.org FEMA National
Portal http//www.fema.gov/donations Business
portals BENS http//www.bens.org ALAN
http//www.alanaid.org    Referral sites
National VOAD http//www.nvoad.org/HowToHelp/ Do
natinginTimesofDisaster/tabid/58/Default.aspx
USA Freedom Corps http//www.usafreedomcorps.gov
  Citizen Corps http//www.citizencorps.gov/ 
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• To advance the health of
• individuals and communities
• by serving as the leading advocate
• for all Georgia hospitals
  
• and health care systems.

Adrianne Feinberg, Project Manager Bioterrorism
Preparedness 770-249-4559 afeinberg_at_gha.org