April 2022 Newsletter
Welcome Vermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition Newsletter
April 2022
As a valued partner of the Vermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition (VHEPC), you will receive this bi-monthly newsletter highlighting coalition business, upcoming events and preparedness resources. As a reminder, we recommend that you bookmark the VHEPC website calendar and check it often. We are continually curating the calendar with meetings, trainings and exercises.
Our Mission
Our coalition is a multi-disciplinary partnership collaborating with our members, stakeholders, and surrounding communities to improve and expand emergency preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities. The VHEPC works with healthcare entities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies in the state of Vermont.
VHEPC Announcements and Upcoming Events
Photo Credit: AbsolutVision via Unsplash
Vermont Supply Chain Integrity Project
Workshop and Exercise
April 29, 2022 from 9am - 12pm EST
VHEPC MRSE
Medical Surge and Response Exercise
Part 1: May 10, 2022 from 1:00 - 4:00pm EST (No Registration Required)
Part 2: May 11, 2022 from 1:00 - 4:00pm EST
Project Firstline
The Vermont Department of Health’s Project Firstline Program is offering free online infection prevention and control trainings for health care workers.
· First, watch an on-demand training.
· Then, register now for the first live online case study discussions by healthcare worker type.
o Environmental Services- April 7, 10 AM
o EMS Providers- April 8, 8 PM
o Advanced Provider- April 8, 12 PM
EMS Providers can now earn continuing education credit for the first training. The second phase of trainings will be eligible for continuing education credit for nurses and physicians. Also, save the date for the upcoming in-person PPE Train the Trainer program the week of June 27 in Vermont. Have questions? Email VermontPFL@allclearemg.com
Equity in Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Survey
Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Survey Instructions
How: Does your organization use equity-based planning in your emergency preparedness program?
What: Take the 10-minute Equity in Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Survey to contribute to a baseline assessment of equity-based planning efforts in healthcare emergency preparedness within the state of Vermont.
The Vermont Department of Health, with support from All Clear Emergency Management Group, will use the data collected to:
Understand what equity efforts are underway in healthcare organizations in Vermont.
Identify improvement opportunities, barriers to improving equity, and opportunities for future trainings and resources to support equity-based planning.
Create a strategic plan for improving equity-based planning efforts in healthcare emergency preparedness within Vermont.
Who: This survey is meant for staff that coordinate emergency preparedness activities at hospitals, FQHCs, rural health clinics, and home health agencies.
See the attached flyer above to share with others who may be interested in participating in the survey.
Introducing: Baillie Brooks
Please welcome our new Assistant Readiness and Response Coordinator, Baillie!
Baillie Brooks joined All-Clear Emergency Management Group as the VHEPC Assistant Readiness & Response Coordinator in March of 2022. Previously, she worked as a data coordinator for a public health research company and interned with Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment OEPR on COVID-19 COOP reconstruction during her master’s program.
Baillie has a bachelor's degree in Public Health and Environmental Studies with a minor in Sociology from Augustana College (IL). She also holds a master's degree in Public Health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health and a Certificate in Public Health Disaster Preparedness and Response from the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Public Health. In addition, Baillie holds multiple FEMA certifications. She currently lives in Colorado and spends most of her free time skiing, hiking, climbing, and camping.
CISA: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
NEW! Shields Up
Check out CISA’s new Shields Up page to help you and your organization get ready to prepare, respond, and mitigate the impacts of cybersecurity.
Training Corner
Find the latest trainings here.
Burn Surge Management Training
The focus of this training was to cover the basics of managing a mass casualty incident primarily involving patients with burn injuries. The developer and presenter of this program was Dr. Randy Kearns, a professor in the College of Business Administration at the University of New Orleans and a retired professor from the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina. This training was attended by coalition members and was recorded and posted to the VHEPC website as a resource for others to view. Additionally, the PowerPoint slides utilized in the training were posted on the website for future review
All four modules can be found below.
National Incident Management System Training
FEMA provides free emergency response trainings for those wishing to improve their training and knowledge in National Incident Management (NIMS). The FEMA website provides more detail stating “The Emergency Management Institute works in collaboration with the whole community to provide training in support of the NIMS Training Program. The Preparedness Branch coordinates EMI’s NIMS training efforts with the National Integration Center (NIC) to integrate NIMS doctrine and training with whole community needs.
For more information and to view available trainings
VHEPC Event Calendar
Contact Us
Kate Hammond, Coalition Chair
802-373-2207
Kate.Hammond@uvmhealth.org
Jim Holway, Member at Large
802-391-8849
jholway@livingwellgroup.org
Deborah Wesley, Member at Large
802-388-7259
dwesley@achhh.org
Jennifer Bynum, Readiness and Response Coordinator
919-717-3355
vhepc@allclearemg.com
Lauren Smith, Interim Assistant Readiness and Response Coordinator
458-225-4684
vhepc@allclearemg.com
Baillie Brooks, Assistant Readiness and Response Coordinator
303-565-9425
vhepc@allclearemg.com
Sam Carr, VHEPC Project Support/Planning Specialist
984-484-8269
vhepc@allclearemg.com
Dr. David Nelson, Pediatric Clinical Advisor
702-449-9903
david.nelson@uvmhealth.org
Dr. Ryan Sexton, Clinical Advisor
609-709-2882
ryanjsexton@yahoo.com
Vacant, Coalition Co-Chair
Vacant, Coalition Secretary