Californias Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program

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CaliforniasHospitalBioterrorismPreparedness
Program

• State of California
• Emergency Medical Services Authority

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The HRSA Grant

• Authorized by the Public Health and Social
  Services Emergency Fund
• Section 319 of the Public Health Services Act, 42
  U.S.C.247d.
• 125 million funded through the Health Resources
  and Services Administration
• California receiving 9,962,905
• Los Angeles County receiving 3.5 million

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Purpose of the Grant

• Awarded to State Public Health Departments
• EMSA will administer and implement the plan
• Develop and implement regional plans to improve
  the response to bioterrorism (or other outbreaks
  of infectious disease) incident requiring
• Mass immunization
• Treatment
• Isolation and/or quarantine

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Purpose of the Grant

• Focus on
• Hospitals
• Emergency Departments
• Clinics and Outpatient centers
• EMS Systems
• Other collaborating health care entities

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Critical Benchmarks

• Program leadership
• Coordinator
• Medical Director
• Support Staff
• Hospital Bioterrorism
• Preparedness Planning Committee
• Regional Planning

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Grant Provisions/Priorities

• First Priority Planning (from HRSA)
• Conducting a statewide needs assessment
• Medications and Vaccines
• PPE, Decontamination, Quarantine
• Communications
• Biologic Disaster Drills
• Regional planning (500 or more victims)

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Grant Provisions/Priorities

• Second Priority Planning Areas
• Personnel
• Mobilization of staff to impacted area(s)
• Training
• Recognition of biological diseases
• Use of PPE/decon equipment/quarantine
• Assessment, Stabilization, transport
• Patient transfer
• Special needs populations
• Designated facilities

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Cooperation Collaboration is Essential!

• Coordination of funding streams
• CDC grant
• HRSA Grant
• MMRS
• Cooperation with other sources (OES, FEMA,
  others)
• Planning and response cooperation with DHS, MMRS,
  OES, SSCOT, S-TAC and others
• Collaboration with Los Angeles County HRSA and
  CDC (grant) planning and response

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Needs Assessment

• Statewide hospital bioterrorism preparedness
  needs assessment will be developed and conducted.
• Assess hospital vulnerabilities, capabilities AND
  preparedness needs.
• Identified needs and priorities will guide the
  implementation plan.

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Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program
Timeline

• Needs Assessment
• Began October 16, 2002
• Completed December 12, 2002
• A total of 72 of licensed general acute care
  hospitals and,
• 54.3 of licensed community care clinics
• participated in the survey!

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Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Planning
Committee

• Mission
• The mission of the Hospital Bioterrorism
  Preparedness Planning Committee (HBPPC) is to
  provide guidance, direction and oversight to the
  Emergency Medical Services Authority and the
  Department of Health Services in planning for
  Californias healthcare system bioterrorism
  preparedness and response.

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Duties of the HBPPC

• Provide technical assistance and expertise in the
  development and maintenance of the statewide
  hospital bioterrorism needs assessment and
  implementation plan for California.

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Duties of the HBPPC

• To develop a statewide plan to address regional
  and hospital preparedness priorities and
  implement the plan across the State of California.

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HBPPC Membership

• Committee membership 46 members!
• Representatives
• EMSA DHS OES OSHPD VA
  
• Health and Human Services Agency
• California Healthcare Association
• State Office of Rural Health
• State Healthcare Associations
• California Primary Care Association and Community
  Clinics
• University of California Medical Centers
• EMS Administrator
• Hospital/ED representatives
• Health Officers
• Hospital and Healthcare System Disaster Interest
  Group Members
• Other key partners

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HBPPC Membership

• Area experts and advisors will be brought into
  the HBPPC meetings to provide input and
  information.
• This ensures wide representation and expert
  consultation!

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Immediate Needs Identified

• Training
• Investigate training programs and best
  educational systems currently in place
• Develop training programs to educate across the
  healthcare spectrum including all staff levels,
  hospitals, clinics, other healthcare partners
• Recommend a statewide standard for education and
  endorse the program

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Training Program Requirements

• All staff included, leverage the training
  throughout the entire community, not only the
  healthcare community. Dispel the myths.
• Available for use by broader community
• Affordable and flexible, variety of teaching
  modalities
• Have a long shelf life and able to easily update,
  and leave open areas for ability of
  locals/facilities/agencies to insert local issues
  and protocols for education of the staff.
• Link with the existing subject matter experts

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Statewide Standards

• Develop statewide standards and recommendations
  for the high priority needs (identified by HRSA)
• Medications and vaccines
• PPE, Decon, Isolation
• Communications
• Biologic Disaster Drills

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Standards Development

• Look at best practices in local, regional, state
  and national arenas
• Develop standardized recommendations for
  California
• Identify capacity issues
• Assess best practices in the needs assessment
  process
• Recommend stockpiles/minimum medication
  inventories
• Base recommendations on threat assessment/risk
  and vulnerability for each OA

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Communications

• Investigate current communication systems and the
  interoperability
• Work closely with CDC grant, OES, DHS and other
  programs to avoid duplication of efforts
• Determine flow of information up and down to
  include
• hospital to hospital communication
• Hospital to other healthcare partners
• Local public health, region and state

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• There is commitment of the Program Staff and the
  HBPPC to accomplish the grant tasks and
  provisions and facilitate hospital preparedness
  as
• expeditiously and efficiently
• as possible!

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The Future

• Future funding may be available
• Approx. 500 million in 2003 Federal budget
  earmarked for hospital bioterrorism preparedness
  (awaiting the appropriations process in Congress
  for approval)
• Future funding will be predicated on the success
  of the first implementation plan
• Immediate, short-term and long-term goals must be
  addressed!

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Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program Staff

• Program Coordinator
• Cheryl Starling, RN
• EMS Authority
• 916-322-4336 Extension 463
• cheryl.starling_at_emsa.ca.gov
• Medical Director Dr. Christian Sandrock
• Support Staff Kelly Kirkbride