The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourage long-term care facilities (LCTFs) to engage with their local healthcare coalition. The healthcare coalition for LCTFs in eastern Virginia is the Eastern Virginia Healthcare Coalition (EVHC).
The EVHC can assist you in the development and refinement of your facility's emergency preparedness program to include:
- Hazard Vulnerability Analysis
- Communications plan development
- Emergency Operations Plan development
- Emergency Operations Plan & Communication Plan testing, including tabletop, functional and full-scale exercises
- Plan and exercise evaluation
As an LCTF in the eastern region, you are encouraged to obtain access to the Virginia Healthcare Alerting and Status System (VHASS). VHASS is a secure, web-based emergency management system to coordinate and streamline individual and regional health care responses to all hazards. Fully interoperable, built-in modules “handshake” with one another to save time, reduce confusion and provide intelligent real-time responses. VHASS includes modules that provide for: all-hazards planning; communications before, during, and after an emergency; patient and resident tracking; event and situation reporting and facility status reporting. To learn more about VHASS go to: http://info.vhha-mci.org/
The EVHC remains committed to assisting you in meeting the national, state, and regional healthcare disaster preparedness objectives. For assistance please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (757) 963-0632.
