Disaster Preparedness Memo

Date:   November 13, 2006 -- OQA Memo 06-027

To:       Adult Day Care Centers ADC 08
             Adult Family Homes AFH 10
             Ambulatory Surgery Centers ASC 05
             Certified Mental Health and AODA CMHA 03
             Community Based Residential Facilities CBRF 12
             End Stage Renal Dialysis Units ESRD 04
             Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled (FDD) FDD 06
             Home Health Agencies HHA 04
             Hospices HSPC 07
             Hospitals HOSP 12
             Nurse Aide Training Programs NATP 03
             Nursing Homes NH 14
             Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities OPT/SP 03
             Residential Care Apartment Complexes RCAC 08
             Rural Health Clinics RHC 03

From: Dennis J. Tomczyk
Director, Hospital Disaster Preparedness
Division of Public Health

Via: Otis Woods, Director

Disaster Preparedness Memo

Your facility is a vital asset, which plays a critical role in the health of residents in your community. There are many potential hazards that may damage your facility and threaten the health and safety of your residents and staff. "Preparedness" will help protect your facility, your residents, and your staff.

The State Expert Panel on Healthcare Facilities was established to help you in your emergency preparedness efforts. The Expert Panel has teamed up with the Office of Quality Assurance and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Hospital Disaster Preparedness Program, to provide resources and training for emergency preparedness, which will include:

Communications about Emergency Preparedness through the Office of Quality Assurance:

a.   Through their periodic memos;
b.   Through their quarterly newsletter; and
c.   Through their OQA website
       http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/rl_DSL/bqa.htm.
Communications about Emergency Preparedness through your professional association.
The development of template plans for various hazards.

a.   The Policy on the Evacuation of Healthcare Facilities has
      already been completed, and can be found at
      http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/rl_DSL/Providers/dstrplng0506.htm.
b.   Template plans will be posted on the web-site as plans are
      completed.
Minimum Level of Readiness Indicators: These are actions that you are encouraged to implement at your facility.
A Base-Line Emergency Preparedness Survey that will allow you to tell us your priorities and how we can best assist you.

a.   This survey will be posted at (click on this "hot link" to access
       the survey)
     http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225SBAH73YW
       on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, and will remain open till
       Sunday, December 31, 2006.
b.   You are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to
       identify your needs and priorities in disaster preparedness.
c.   All response will remain confidential and results will be
       reported only in the aggregate.
A series of four Web Casts that will provide you with valuable information about the Emergency Preparedness Program for your facility. They are scheduled for the following dates, but can be accessed at anytime after the program date (see Web Cast Instructions below).

a. Wednesday, November 8, 2006: "Emergency Preparedness
for Healthcare Facilities," Host: Michael Berry, Administrator,
Mount Carmel Nursing Home, Greenfield.

     The Web Cast will discuss what the Expert Panel is
      intending to do to help healthcare facilities in their
     disaster preparedness efforts, including:

Providing plan templates;

Web Casts to provide valuable information;

Train-the-trainer- workshops on the Incident   Command System;

County networking meetings so that you and your peers can share information about disaster preparedness;

How to take the Basel-Line Survey;

And more.

b.   Wednesday, January 8, 2007: "The National Response
      Plan and the National Incident Management System:
      Your Role and Responsibility." (Host, to be determined.)

c.   Wednesday, March 8, 2007: Topic to be determined,
      based on your needs and priorities.

d.   Wednesday, May 8, 2007: Topic to be determined,
      based on your needs and priorities.

7.    Train-the-Trainer Program on the Incident Command System: You
          will be invited to send a representative from your facility to one of
          three workshops on the Incident Command System, which explain
          how this system will work in your facility during an emergency
          incident. (More detailed information about this will be available in
         January 2007.)

8.    County networking meetings: You will receive information after
         January 1, 2007, about networking meetings in your county where
         you can meet with other healthcare facilities and other emergency
         responders to discuss the Policy on the Evacuation of Healthcare
         Facilities, and get to know how everyone can work together better
         in responding to an emergency or a disaster.

We are proud to partner with you in being prepared to protect the health and safety of residents.

The State Expert Panel on Healthcare Facilities

Instructions for Watching the Emergency Preparedness Web Casts

1. Set-Up: Please go to:
      http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/webcast/help.htm for complete
      Instructions on how to set up your computer and up-date
      any of the programs (available at no cost) necessary to
      watch these Web Casts.

2. This site asks you to "view an archived presentation." If you
     can watch this sample Web Cast, then you will be able to
     view the Emergency Preparedness Web Cast.

3. Also on this site is a "self-help tutorial" that can help you fix
      the most common problems, e.g., not having the most
      recent up-dates of the programs like "Windows Media."
      These can be downloaded at no cost right at this site.

4.   Be sure to test this system before the Emergency
      Preparedness Web Cast.

5. To view the Web Cast, go to:
      http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/webcast/index.htm.

6. Click on "View the catalog of our Web Cast."

7. Click on the Column on "Public Health" on the left hand
      side of your screen.

8. You may also search for the Web Cast by the speaker
      name, e.g., "Michael Berry."

9. Click on the program "Emergency Preparedness for
      Healthcare Facilities."

10. Enjoy the Web Cast. The program is available for viewing
      at 8:00 a.m on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, and will
      then be archived for viewing at any time thereafter.

Options for Viewing the Web Cast

1. You may view the Web Cast individually at your work PC
     or on your PC at home at any time after 8:00 a.m on
     Wednesday, November 8, 2006.

2. You may want to set up a laptop and projector to have a
     group of persons at your facility view this Web Cast.

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Wisconsin Department of Health Services

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