September 2021 Newsletter
WELCOME TO THE HEALTHCARE COALITION OF MAINE NEWSLETTER
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Healthcare Coalition of Maine (HCCME) is to develop and sustain a powerful coalition of health care organizations, first responders, and other key partners united to save lives and improve health outcomes during disasters through preparedness, planning, response, and recovery efforts.
UPCOMING COALITION EVENTS
September 15th: Statewide HCC Meeting & Supply Chain Integrity Workshop from 12:00-3:00pm via Zoom. Click here for meeting agenda and here to register to attend.
September 28th: Psychological First Aid (PFA) Training from 9:30AM-12:30PM. Click here for a full training description and here to register to attend.
November Chapter Meetings:
Register here for the Northern Chapter Meeting on November 10th from 9-10:30am
Register here for the Central Chapter Meeting on November 12th from 9-10:30am
Register here for the Southern Chapter Meeting on November 19th from 9-10:30am
TWO POSITIONS AVAILABLE!
All Clear Emergency Management Group is searching for a detail oriented, highly skilled and motivated Healthcare Coalition Coordinator to join our team! This position will provide coverage to the Northern Chapter by planning, implementing, and evaluating activities associated with the Coalition. Additionally, this position will recruit and maintain a diverse coalition membership with hospital, public health, emergency management, emergency medical services and other healthcare partners.
For more information, see the full job description located here. Cover letters and resumes should be submitted by email to jobs_HCCME@AllClearEMG.com.
We also continue to search for a detail oriented, highly skilled and motivated Contract Clinical Advisor to join our team! This position will serve the HCCME, by providing clinical leadership and serving as a liaison between the Coalition and medical directors/medical leadership at health care facilities, supporting entities (e.g., blood banks), and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies.
For more information, see the full job description located here. Cover letters and resumes should be submitted by email to jobs+clinical@AllClearEMG.com.
Preparing For a Burn Surge
Preparing for any medical surge is a critical part of health care. This year, the Healthcare Coalition of Maine is focusing on Burn Surge planning. A burn surge can be triggered by any disaster that causes an increase in patients needing specialized burn care. Having a burn surge plan in place lays the foundation for effective and efficient patient care and treatment when time is of the essence. Burn surge plans should be exercised and revised regularly to ensure they are accurate and meet the ever changing needs of each facility.
Below are some resources that can be used to plan, write, and exercise your plans for a burn surge incident.
PLAN: The first step to having a solid burn surge plan is to gather background information and identify the needs of a facility. This overview provides a framework and guidance for healthcare coalitions, burn centers, state public health preparedness professionals, healthcare facilities, and other stakeholders planning for a burn surge event. See ASPR TRACIE's Mass Burn Event Overview.
WRITE: Planning for a burn surge is just the beginning. Without a written plan in place, facilities lack guidance to pull from when the needed moment arrives. The following guidance is provided for healthcare coalitions in the development of their burn surge annex. See ASPR TRACIE's Healthcare Coalition Burn Surge Annex Template.
EXERCISE: After a plan has been written, it should be exercised to find strengths and/or gaps that need to be modified. A tabletop exercise is an excellent way to evaluate the newly written burn surge plan. This burn surge tabletop exercise template by ASPR TRACIE is a good starting point for building your tabletop exercise. See ASPR TRACIE's Burn Surge Tabletop Exercise Template.
Partner Resources
The Public Health Preparedness We Need Now
What have the 20 years since 9/11 taught us about the nation’s emergency response capabilities? ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser and Jim Blumenstock, ASTHO senior vice president of pandemic response and recovery, reflect on the future of public health preparedness in their new AJPH column: Twenty Years After 9/11: The Public Health Preparedness We Need Now.
ASPR TRACIE Pediatric Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Speaker Series: Compounding Disaster Pediatric Triage to Care
In this presentation, covering compounding disaster pediatric triage to care, Mandy Corbin discusses the use of stepped triage to care support in county schools to help address student trauma. Judith Cohen (MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Drexel University, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh) shares how PsySTART Rapid Triage can be used to target interventions and deliver resiliency skills session and a study that examined the use of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with youth experiencing complex PTSD.
HhS Maternal-Child Health Emergency Planning Toolkit
The recently released Health and Human Services (HHS) Maternal-Child Health (MCH) Emergency Planning Toolkit was developed by the HHS/Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) At-Risk Individuals Program with the goal of better preparing populations for emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. Those populations included in MCH (as it relates to this document) are women who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or lactating; infants (0-12 months); and young children (1-5 years). The MCH population faces unique vulnerabilities during times of disaster that require special attention. This may be in the form of preparing safe sleep options for infants and their families, providing developmentally appropriate healthy food options, or easily accessible medical records for continued prenatal or well-baby visits. While the challenges are numerous, with proper preparedness and mitigation techniques, trained responders, and targeted recovery work, public health professionals can work together collaboratively to keep moms, infants, and young children safe and healthy during disasters.
The toolkit works the following frameworks into all recommendations and best practices, striving to create equity for all populations and an environment of “consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals” during disaster preparedness, response, and recovery:
The life-course approach- this recognizes the importance of preventing and controlling diseases from preconception through death. The life-course approach also recognizes that Social Determinants of Health can affect the health of a life from before it was conceived through its aging years.
Social Determinants of Health- conditions in the environment that can affect the quality of life, particularly in vulnerable populations such as infants and young children.
Trauma-informed approach to MCH- recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and stress on a human and explores potential paths for recovery.
CDC Launches New COVID-19 Vaccine Online Tool
CDC has launched the SmartFind COVID-19 Vaccine ChatBot tool to help provide clear, consistent, and credible information regarding COVID-19 vaccines, including answers to common COVID-19 vaccination questions. This new tool can quickly connect visitors with up-to-date information and resources about COVID-19 vaccines, enabling them to make informed choices about COVID-19 vaccination.
partner trainings and webinars
ASTHO- COVID-19 and PTSD in the Workforce
Wednesday, October 20 from 1:30-2:15 PM EDT
Connection Information
ASTHO- Leading with Gratitude
Thursday, November 18 from 4:00-4:45 PM EDT
Connection Information
CDC-Weekly National COVID-19 Call Series: for state, tribal, local, and territorial partners to deliver the latest information on the outbreak and U.S. preparedness efforts
Occurs every Monday from 2:00-2:45 PM EDT
Connection Information
CDC- National Call Series on COVID-19-Related Response Strategies: provides STLT partners with timely updates and peer-to-peer learning and sharing of successful response strategies.
Occurs every Thursday from 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
Connection Information
CONTACT US
Email your coalition coordinators at HCCME@AllClearEMG.com to assist you with any of your preparedness needs.
As a reminder, we recommend that you bookmark our website MaineHCCs.com and check in often as we are continually updating the calendar with meetings, trainings, and exercises!