|
Health Care System Preparedness
Through
a federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant project,
each state receives funds to improve preparedness of hospitals and supporting
systems for a large scale public health event. Although the primary focus is
for a terrorist act using a biological agent, all hazards are considered,
including chemical, nuclear, radiological, explosive and disease pandemic,
whether intentional or occurring naturally.
The
Division of Threat Preparedness and West Virginia Department of Health and
Human Resources (DHHR), in cooperation with the West Virginia Hospital
Association (WVHA), supports seven regional planning groups of hospitals,
primary care centers, local health departments, emergency services agencies and
others who have developed and continue to work on regional response plans to
such events.
Critical
issues for hospitals and the healthcare system include preparing for a surge of
hundreds of additional patients, alternate patient care sites, supplemental
Collaborative
efforts and cooperation among healthcare, public health and emergency service
personnel are serving to make West Virginia safer to deal with an unexpected
large scale event.
|
|
|
