National Preparedness Month

Friday, September 29th

Last but not least, us at the Southwest Virginia Healthcare Coalition (SVHC).  Our mission is to support the healthcare infrastructure of Southwest Virginia with disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation resources. This region comprises 39 local jurisdictions and 1.3 million residents over approximately 13 thousand square miles. Coalition member facilities include 25 acute care or critical access hospitals, 3 Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services hospitals, 1 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 80+ skilled nursing facilities, 42 dialysis facilities, and 23 home health organizations. Our core partners include 8 local health districts, 3 Regional EMS Councils, and 3 Virginia Department of Emergency Management regions. We assist healthcare members and regional partners with relevant information sharing, healthcare coordination operations, collaboration opportunities, and a robust training and exercise program.
Thank you for following along with our preparedness month updates!
- Matt Allen, VHHA Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness 

Friday, September 22nd

Up next, The Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS). NVERS was founded in 2005, as regional leaders recognized the need for a unified and coordinated approach to emergency preparedness following the September 11, 2001 attacks. NVERS became an independent 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in 2015 and was designated as the region's healthcare coalition in 2021.  Today, NVERS continues to enhance the ability of their region's healthcare sector, public safety agencies, and other partners to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. NVERS facilitates a cross-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary approach to preparedness. This resilient partnership of preparedness systems saves lives, time, and economic resources during major emergencies in Northern Virginia. Visit their website to learn more about NVERS.
- Matt Allen, VHHA Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness 

Friday, September 15th

This week, we are featuring the Eastern Virginia Healthcare Coalition (EVHC). The Eastern Region consists of the following 27 jurisdictions: Accomack County, Chesapeake, Essex County, Franklin, Gloucester County, Hampton, Isle of Wight County, James City County, King and Queen County, King William County, Lancaster County, Matthews County, Middlesex County, Newport News, Norfolk, Northampton County, Northumberland County, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Richmond County, Smithfield, Southampton County, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Westmoreland County, Williamsburg, and York County.
EVHC is passionate about its mission, vision, and values to support healthcare preparedness efforts! EVHC reaches 1.2 million people across a diverse urban, suburban, and rural landscape. Founded in August of 2013 as a part of the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP), they have grown steadily in their emergency preparedness mission over the last ten years. EVHC's vision is focused on expanding and strengthening the Eastern Region healthcare system's resilience in the face of disasters and ensuring person-centered care by advancing an equitable healthcare ecosystem. Click here to learn more about EVHC.
- Matt Allen, VHHA Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness 

Friday, September 8th

Over the next few weeks, you will have the chance to learn about each of the Healthcare Coalitions within The Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP), a partnership between the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA). One of the four Regional Healthcare Coalitions in the Commonwealth –  Central Virginia Healthcare Coalition (CVHC) is an emergency management alliance of hospitals, public health, EMS agencies,  healthcare facilities, and community partners who prepare for, respond to, and recover from healthcare emergencies of natural and man-made origins.
CVHC manages VHEMP activities for the Central Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. CVHC facilitates communication, collaboration, and cooperation across healthcare systems and among diverse specialties of care, levels of government, and community-driven organizations. CVHC serves 23 counties and five independent cities in Central Virginia.  Among these are 17 acute care hospitals, 8 free-standing emergency care centers, more than 50 long-term care facilities, and numerous hospice, home health, and dialysis partners. CVHC is on-call 24/7 to support incident response across the region with information sharing, resource management, and regional incident coordination. The CVHC Regional Healthcare Coordination Center (RHCC) can be reached at 1-800-276-0683, Option "0".  
To learn more, visit their website to learn more about CVHC.
- Matt Allen, VHHA Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness 

Friday, September 1st

As many of you know, September is National Preparedness Month, and to celebrate the preparedness efforts across the Commonwealth, the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP) will spotlight one healthcare coalition each Friday. Bookmark or save this post to refer back to as we share updates!

First, National Preparedness Month has been recognized since 2004 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the nation has renewed its focus on strengthening emergency preparedness efforts and encouraging families, professional organizations, and communities to undertake emergency planning. The 2023 theme for National Preparedness Month is “Preparing for Older Adults.” Additional details about this campaign can be found at Ready.gov and FEMA.gov. This month, the American Red Cross also supports a “30 Days of Preparedness” campaign featuring daily suggestions regarding preparedness efforts. View more information at redcross.org.

As frontline providers, healthcare professionals have a unique understanding of the importance of maintaining preparedness efforts to respond to an emergency that impacts public health and patients, including older adults. Supporting this work is the VHEMP, which represents a partnership between the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) that receives grant funding from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) under the auspices of HHS. The program addresses close gaps in the health care system’s ability to respond to natural and manmade disasters. This is done through a well-established network of four regional healthcare coalitions that work with healthcare facilities and response organizations to support healthcare preparedness and response.

Each healthcare coalition operates a Regional Healthcare Coordination Center (RHCC) designed to communicate and coordinate response activities during a healthcare facility disaster. The program aims to build partnerships, share resources, and coordinate local, regional, and state responses. To learn more about the program click this link and visit the regional information page to learn about healthcare coalitions.

Matt Allen, VHHA Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness