EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Our Community Health Centers know that nothing challenges a facility faster than an emergency in your neighborhood. When resources are overwhelmed by an outbreak, potential threats are impending, weather emergencies have created staff travel complications and power outages, you must depend on your preparedness efforts. New Jersey’s Community Health Centers continuously prepare for a whole community, all hazards approach so that an emergency will not be compounded by surprise. NJPCA emergency preparedness efforts ensure that Community Health Centers are ready.

CENTER READINESS

In an emergency, every member of a Center’s staff will be required to respond. Everyone must know their role and how to execute it. An emergency may strain a facility in many ways: personnel, resources, patient safety and caseload. The threats to health care facilities are incredibly varied and through collaboration with our neighborhood partners and building relationships throughout the NJ Healthcare Coalition, we can plan for and address gaps identified through regional and statewide assessments.

CENTER TRAINING

NJPCA’s courses cover all the crucial emergency planning topics, including:

  • IS 100 (Incident Command System-Beginner)—All Health Centers are mandated to take this course as
    established by NIMS Element 11. This course assists Centers in establishing an Incident Command Team and
    basic command/control functions in an emergency.
  • IS 200 (Incident Command System-Intermediate) – All Health Centers are mandated to take this course as
    established by NIMS Element 11. This course builds upon IS 100 and further instills the principles of ICS
    and ICS’s application in an emergency.
  • IS 700 (National Incident Management System) – All Health Centers are mandated to take this course as
    established by NIMS Element 9. This course assists Centers by unifying their preparedness efforts and
    coordinating their response activities under a multi-jurisdictional system.
  • IS 800 (National Response Framework) – All Health Centers are mandated to take this course as
    established by NIMS Element 10. This course explains the federal response mechanisms and how local, State
    and other agencies work together in federally declared disasters.
  • Personal Disaster Preparedness—this is a basic disaster awareness course that aids CHC staff to prepare
    personally for a disaster. Staffers create emergency communication plans, family disaster plans, emergency
    go bags, and pet supply kits.

NJPCA Pandemic Influenza Virtual Table Top Exercise, VTTX, program was designed for a “community-based” group of personnel from local, state, volunteer or federal public health, health care, assisted living facilities and emergency management organizations with representation from all Emergency Management disciplines – public safety, public works, government, administrative, communications, military, private sector, non-governmental, and other whole community partners involved in a public health-based pandemic influenza response and recovery.

NJPCA training is not just another lecture. It is case-based and uses real-life situations applicable to your Center. Your staff participates in simulations and multi-disciplinary exercises designed to help you learn how to apply best practices in disaster preparation and response. NJPCA is sensitive to the demands of running a Federally Qualified Health Center and conducts training according to your schedule. We make it easy for you to make time for this crucial training. All tabletop exercises are HSEEP compliant.

The New Jersey Primary Care Association provides the Federally Qualified Health Centers with the skills they need to successfully prepare, respond, and recover in the event of a natural or man-made emergency. NJPCA provides Centers with a Resource Center, policies and procedures, continuing education and training.