Transcript Slide 1

The Acute Care Hospital Emergency
Surge Project (ACHES)
Jane Richter
ACHES Project Coordinator
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Emergency System for Advance
Registration of
Volunteer Health Professionals
and the
Medical Reserve Corps
Preparedness
Deborah S. Derrick
ESAR-VHP/MRC Coordinator
Office of Public Health
(803) 898-4472
[email protected]
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ESAR-VHP Program
A national program to facilitate professionals
volunteering during emergencies
 An interoperable network of systems across
the U.S. and maintained by the states to verify
credentials BEFORE volunteers are needed!
 States must build their systems to a single set
of Emergency Credentialing Standards and
definitions so that volunteers can be shared
and utilized across state lines.

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GOAL OF ESAR-VHP PROGRAM
Resolve in advance significant problems
encountered when utilizing the services
of volunteers in complex emergency
response situation.
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South Carolina Emergency
Registry of Volunteers (SCSERV)
•ESAR-VHP database established
•Now how do we organize the volunteers?
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Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
MRC mission is to engage volunteers in
order to strengthen public health &
medical response and community
resiliency.
 Each MRC is designed to meet local
community’s needs.
 MRC units undergo training, participate in
exercises, and help educate the local
community.

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SC Medical Reserve Corps
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So we’ve got it going for public
health, now what about hospitals?
Grant written and funded in spring 2010.
 Gave rise to the Acute Care Hospital
Emergency Surge Project.

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ACHES Project
Goal
Expand SC ESAR-VHP Program to facilitate acute care
hospitals’ ability to utilize volunteers to increase hospital
surge capacity
II.
Objectives
Identify and address surge capacity needs of:
1) acute care hospitals
2) individual volunteers
3) ESAR-VHP database system (i.e., SCSERV)
III. Outcome
I.
Registered volunteers verified, credentialed, &
prepared to augment hospital surge capacity!
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ACHES Progress to Date
Year 1: we planned!
 Year 2: we divided and conquered in order
to problem-solve!

◦ Training Workgroup (to prepare volunteers)
◦ SCSERV Workgroup (to prepare database to
accept volunteers willing to support hospitals)
◦ Volunteer Protections Workgroup (to prepare
hospitals to mobilize & use volunteers)

Year 3: we will continue to problem solve
and we will test our plans and processes.
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Training Workgroup
(to prepare volunteers)
With representation from hospitals, SC
Hospital Association and DHEC, developed a
training matrix.
 Identified trainings online that are reputable
and current
 Made as few trainings “REQUIRED” as
necessary to align with public health training
requirements.

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Levels of Volunteers
Level 1: actively employed in a hospital or has
hospital privileges
 Level 2: clinically active in any setting other
than a hospital
 Level 3: meets basic qualifications necessary
to practice in the state
 Level 4: healthcare experience/education in
an area useful in providing basic healthcare
not controlled by scope of practice laws
 Level 5: passes the Inspector General check
(this is a DHEC-generated level)
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SCSERV Workgroup
(to prepared website & database to accept
“hospital” volunteers)
Added hospital photos to collage on opening page
of website
 Changed verbiage to include willingness to
volunteer in support of hospitals and other
healthcare entities, in addition to public health.
 Added information to Frequently Asked Questions
sidebar differentiating legal protections available
when volunteering for public health versus those
provided (or not) by hospitals
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SCSERV Workgroup

Added the following occupations to the SCSERV
database:
Biomedical Engineer
Certified Nursing Assistant
Emergency Management staff
Facility Management staff
Language Interpreters
Occupational Therapist
Plant Operations staff
Security staff
Environmental Services staff
Infection Control staff
Material Management staff
Physical Therapist
Safety staff
Speech Therapist
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Volunteer Protections Workgroup

We operated with the assumption that
there are 3 major concerns of individuals
when volunteering:
1. If I am injured, who’ll take care of me? Who
will pay for treatment?
2. If I am sued, whose personal liability policy
will cover me?
3. If I am unable to work, who will cover my lost
wages?
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This Has Been Worked Out for
A DHEC Volunteer
The volunteer must sign a volunteer
agreement that specifies that liability
coverage will be provided while acting
exclusively on behalf of DHEC and within
the scope of practice as a volunteer
 No Workers’ Compensation provided
 No mention of treatment for injury or
sickness
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If A Hospital Deploys a Volunteer
May or may not provide treatment for
injury or sickness
 May or may not provide professional
liability coverage
 Probably won’t provide reimbursement
for lost wages
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Volunteers Need to Be Aware!
Check with your health insurer and other
appropriate insurer carriers to determine if
they will cover you should you volunteer
to assist during an emergency response.
 Check with your personal professional
liability insurance carrier to determine if
they will cover you should you volunteer
to assist during an emergency response.
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Ask Questions, Demand Answers
The initial contact from the hospital, clinic,
etc. , offering you (begging you???) the
opportunity to volunteer will be the time
for you to ask questions as to whether or
not any legal protections will be provided.
 Make an informed decision based on
knowledge of risks and benefits.
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ACHES Year 3 Tasks

Convene a workgroup comprised of:
◦ Hospital Human Resources staff
◦ Hospital Risk Managers
◦ Hospital Emergency Managers
◦ SC Hospital Association staff
◦ SC DHEC staff
to design an educational campaign directed at
hospitals so the leadership determines what
coverage/protections they will provide to
volunteers before an event happens.
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ACHES Year 3 Tasks
Recruit volunteers interested in providing
support for hospitals
 Work with an urban hospital & a rural
hospital to exercise:

◦ Calling DHEC and requesting volunteers
◦ Obtaining the listing from DHEC and calling
volunteers in to provide hospital support
◦ Badging, credentialing and privileging (as
appropriate) the volunteers
◦ Assigning volunteers to roles
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ACHES Year 3 Tasks

Based on the After Actions Reports of the
hospital exercises, revise:
◦ The training matrix
◦ The SCSERV website/database
◦ The educational information provided to
hospitals about:
 the process of working with DHEC to access a listing
of volunteers, and
 the need to determine beforehand what legal
protections will be provided for volunteers serving
on their behalf during emergencies.
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Please Consider!

Volunteering to assist with Year 3 tasks.
You can help by:
◦ Assisting with the development of the
educational campaign and materials
◦ Allowing us to piggyback on your hospital’s
exercise to test the processes developed to
seamlessly integrate SCSERV volunteers into
an emergency response
◦ Recruiting volunteers to register in SCSERV
to support hospitals
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Jane Richter
USC Center for Public Health Preparedness
1233 Washington Street, Suite 700
Columbia, SC 29201
803.606.1391
[email protected]
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Questions?
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