Emergency Preparedness
Program Requirements for New
Access Point Applications
Matthew Ziemer
EP Program Manager, CHCANYS 212-710-3800
Learning Objectives
• Understand the overall Emergency
Preparedness expectations for FQHCs
• Review and understand the questions on
HRSA Form 10: Annual Emergency Preparedness Report
Emergency Preparedness and
Management Plan
• These terms can be confusing…
– Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
– Emergency Management Plan (EMP)
– Emergency Preparedness and Management plan (EPM)
• For the purposes of this presentation, we will use Form 10 terminology: Emergency
Emergency: noun, pl., -cies
• An event affecting the overall target
population and/or the community at large, which precipitates the declaration of a
state of emergency at a local, State,
regional, or national level by an authorized public official such as a governor, the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or the President of the
Huh?
• For the purposes of this presentation, please consider an emergency as an
event that overwhelms local capacity to deal with an adverse situation.
• Examples could be flood, widespread fire, infectious disease outbreak, power failure, terrorist attack, hazardous materials spill, hurricane, structural collapse, blizzard, etc.
HRSA PIN 2007 – 15
http://www.nachc.com/EM-Policy.cfm
• Outlines emergency management
expectations for health centers (applies to Look-Alikes and 330 grantees)
– Emergency management planning
– Community linkages and collaboration
– Communications and information sharing
– Maintenance of financial and operational stability
HRSA wants to make sure your
site…
• Understands the National Response Framework
(or National Response Plan)
http://training.fema.gov/EMIweb/IS/is800b.asp
– Enables coordination of Federal, State, local, Tribal, private, and NGO entities during national
emergencies
• Understands the National Incident Management
System (NIMS) http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/is/is700.asp
– Create an integrated process of incident management
NIMS and National Response
Framework
• Help to ensure that Health Centers…
– Understand how they fit into the big picture of American emergency management
– Can coordinate with local, State, Federal, tribal, private, and NGO emergency
A good Health Center Emergency
Preparedness Management plan
• Protects Health Center staff and patients
• Safeguards the ability to deliver health care
• Is a regular part of site operations
• Is integrated into community activities
• Allows for continued operational and financial functionality
Emergency Preparedness
Requirements for NAPs
• HRSA Form 10: Annual Emergency
Preparedness Report
– Outlines the Emergency Preparedness needs
of a Health Center
– Divided into 2 sections: Emergency
Preparedness and Management Plan and Readiness
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
1. Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA)
• HVA is the foundation of an EPM
• Identifies priority hazards that threaten your site
• Should be reviewed regularly
• Download a great resource for completing an HVA from the good people at Kaiser Permanente at
http://www.calhospitalprepare.org/category/content- area/planning-topics/healthcare-emergency-
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
2. Does your organization have an
approved EPM plan?
• Is your EPM Board approved?
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
3. Does the EPM plan specifically address the four disaster phases?
a) Mitigation (precautions that lessen the effect of
hazards such as installing floating drains to prevent basement floods)
b) Preparedness (creating plans, conducting training ahead of time to prepare for emergencies, etc)
c) Response (how will you react to an emergency?)
d) Recovery (how will you return to business as usual?)
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
4. Is your EPM plan integrated into your local/regional emergency plan?
• HRSA wants to see your Health Center working in partnership with local, State, regional emergency planners/responders
• Good people to reach out to:
• Local county Department of Health, local Office of Emergency Management, hospital associations…
• Good activities to become involved in:
• Planning sessions, trainings, drills and exercises…
• Note: CHCANYS helps to link our members to NYS and NYC Departments of Health
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
5. If No, has your organization attempted to participate with local/regional emergency planners?
• Some areas are more advanced than
others. Even if emergency planners are few and far between in your area, this question allows you to showcase your efforts to
become integrated in local emergency management.
Section I – Emergency Preparedness
and Management Plan
6. Does the EPM plan address your
capacity to render mass immunization/prophylaxis? • The ability to provide
immunization/prophylaxis to the community is something that HRSA encourages.
Section II – Readiness
1. Does your organization include
alternatives for providing primary care to your current patient population if you are unable to do so during an emergency?
• In the event that your site is no longer operational, do you know where to send
your patients - i.e. other provider networks, etc?
Section II – Readiness
2. Does your organization conduct annual planned drills?
• Drills/exercises should be conducted at least yearly.
• More than just fire drills
• Should be based on the priority risks identified in your HVA
• You are most prepared when you practice (and evaluate!) your preparedness plans
• A good exercise will activate part or all of your EPM plan
• A resource to help you understand how to write and facilitate an exercise: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS120A.asp
Section II – Readiness
3. Does your organization’s staff receive periodic training on disaster
preparedness?
• Good policies to have in place:
• New hire orientation includes training on the EPM
• Annual training on EPM for existing staff (can coincide with annual drills/exercises)
• Management supported trainings for staff self/family preparedness trainings
Section II – Readiness
4. Will the organization be required to deploy staff to Non-Health Center
sites/locations according to emergency preparedness plan for the local
community?
• Will your providers be requested to assist local hospitals, shelters, etc
• If so, the absence of these staff should be accounted for in the EPM
Section II – Readiness
5. Does your organization have
arrangements with Federal, State, and/or local agencies for reporting of data?
• Do you take part in providing
epidemiological data? (i.e., Sentinel provider
http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/com municable/influenza/surveillance/ilinet_progr
Section II – Readiness
6. Does your organization have a back up
communication system?
a) Internal?
• Can you communicate with your staff? Regular hours? After hours? When the phones are down?
a) External?
• Can you communicate with the Department of
Health, local emergency responders (PD, FD, etc), emergency management, hospitals, etc
Section II – Readiness
7. Does your organization coordinate with
other systems of care to provide an integrated emergency response?
• Examples could be coordinating with
surrounding health care networks, hospitals, etc.
Section II – Readiness
8. Has your organization been designated to serve as a point of distribution (POD) for providing antibiotics, vaccines and medical supplies?
• This is different from Question 6 in Section 1. Being designated as a POD means that, if activated, your site will work to rapidly distribute emergency meds or supplies to the public.
• Talk to your local county health department to get involved.
Section II – Readiness
9. Has your organization implemented
measures to prevent financial/revenue and facilities loss due to an emergency? • This can be insurance coverage for short-
term closure, cash reserves for interruption of financial loss, etc.
Section II – Readiness
10.Does your organization have an off-site
backup of your information technology system?
• If you have a fire/flood/etc and your building is damaged, having an off-site backup can prevent loss of valuable data.
Section II – Readiness
11.Does your organization have a
designated EPM coordinator?
• Is this person clearly identified in the EPM?
• Does CHCANYS have his/her contact
CHCANYS EP Technical Assistance
• CHCANYS EP resources online:
– http://asoft364.accrisoft.com/chcanys/index.php?submenu=EP_ Resources&src=gendocs&ref=ep_resources&category=Emergen cy_Preparedness
• NACHC EP resources online:
– http://www.nachc.org/hc-emergency-
Thank you
Matthew Ziemer
EP Program Manager, CHCANYS 212-710-3800
