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Functional Components of HCID/EID Plans 

This section includes resources which support the development of specific components of highly infectious and emerging disease plans and protocols.


In general, an incident management system includes the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents. The National Incident Management System (NIMS), including the Incident Command System (ICS), is the standard for emergency management by all public agencies in the US.  The resources in this section address the application of NIMS and ICS principles in EID/HID incidents.

    MUST READS


  • HICS Guidebook, Fifth Edition (2014)   Hospitals
    California Emergency Medical Services Authority
    Focuses on healthcare facility preparedness and provides hospitals of all sizes and missions with the tools needed to advance their emergency preparedness and response capability.
  • Outbreak Response Tool Kit: Incident Management
    Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    This resource is one of four tool kits from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Outbreak Response Training Program (ORTP) created to help healthcare providers rapidly find resources important to outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery. This tool kit provides an overview of federal to local structures/frameworks; the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS); legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations; and the healthcare epidemiologist’s role.


These resources provide guidance and training for pre-hospital professionals tasked with moving potentially highly contagious patients between healthcare facilities, as well as for treatment centers during and after patient transport. 

    MUST READS

  • EMS Response to High-Risk Patients   EMS
    DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness
    This course was developed in 2015 in partnership with MDPH. The instructor and participant materials are now available for organizations to use for their own training purposes. This course delivers recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control for EMS personnel responding to high risk (Category A) infectious agents. The purpose of this course is to lessen the chances of an unprotected exposure to EMS personnel. Topics covered include: the recognition of infectious patients, proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and extrication and transport techniques.

  • Regional Treatment Network for Ebola and Other Special Pathogens
    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ASPR
    HHS has created a regional treatment network for future infectious disease outbreaks through a tiered system. It describes the roles of the frontline healthcare facility, the assessment hospital, the treatment center, and any regional or other special pathogen treatment centers, including transport. 

  • Guidance for Developing a Plan for Interfacility Transport of Persons Under Investigation (PUI) or Confirmed Patients with Ebola Virus Disease in the United States  EMS
    CDC
    State EMS officials and regional and state EMS planners can use this information to develop regional transport networks, local transport plans, and standard operating procedures. Managers and medical directors can use this guidance to develop procedures and protocols for their services to conduct inter-facility transport (including intrastate or interstate) of PUIs and patients with confirmed Ebola; may also use the information to prepare, educate, and train EMS personnel. Individual providers may use this information to stay safe when responding to and transporting PUIs or patients confirmed to have Ebola.

  • ISOPOD Basics   EMS
    National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC)
    Discusses use of an isopod during patient transfer; an isopod is a negative-pressure individual patient isolation and transportation system that keeps contamination and disease inside the unit, protecting first responders while simultaneously allowing for life-saving medical procedures.
    o   ISOPOD Basics: Patient Care - ISOPOD Basics and Patient Care
    o   ISOPOD Basics: Immediate Response Technology (IRT) Model – Assembling and using ISOPODs manufactured by IRT 
    o   ISOPOD Basics: TVI Model - Assembling and using ISOPODs manufactured by TVI   


This section provides resources that include information and training to ensure robust infection control procedures are in place to care for and protect patients and protect healthcare workers and other personnel.

    MUST READS

  • Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) of Epidemic- and Pandemic-Prone Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) in Health Care
    WHO  
    World Health Organization recommendations for IPC measures for ARIs in health-care settings, with specific emphasis on ARIs that have the potential for rapid spread and may cause epidemics or pandemics or both. 
    o   See page 13 for Decision Tree
    o   See page 59 for PPE 
    o   See page 53 for Annex C: Sample checklist assessment of environmental conditions for home care of patients with ARI of concern
    o   See page 55 for Annex D: Exposure monitoring form
    o   See page 63 for Annex F: Mortuary care
    o   See page 75 for Annex J: Infection prevention and control across the continuum of health care 

  • Infection Control web page
    CDC
    CDC Infection Control Guidelines Library includes guidelines for: Basic Infection Control and Prevention, Antibiotic Resistance, Device associated, Procedure associated, Disease/Organism specific, Healthcare-worker, and Setting-specific guidelines.




  • Managing Solid Waste Contaminated with a Category A Infectious Substance
    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ASPR
    The main component of this guidance addresses planning for Category A waste management activities, including considerations for developing, evaluating, and revising organizational (e.g., hospital) or jurisdictional (e.g., state, territorial, or local) plans. Several accompanying appendices provide users with information about pathogens classified as Category A infectious substances, decision-making for waste treatment and disposal activities, communicating effectively about safe waste management and associated issues, and additional related resources.

  • Isolation Precautions for Healthcare Settings
    CDC
    This document is intended for use by infection control staff, healthcare epidemiologists, healthcare administrators, nurses, other healthcare providers, and persons responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating infection control programs for healthcare settings across the continuum of care. The reader is referred to other guidelines and websites for more detailed information and for recommendations concerning specialized infection control problems.



  • Infection Control Training and Education Resources
    CDC
    These training and education resources are designed to help healthcare providers learn and understand principles of infection control and risk assessments to guide appropriate infection prevention practices. Includes Safe Healthcare Webinar Series, CME/CE activities, interactive trainings for healthcare professionals, and an interactive graphic novel. 



  • Outbreak Response Tool Kit: Horizontal Strategies
    Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)/CDC
    An excerpt that provides quick access to recommendations from the ORTP Guidance related to horizontal strategies for infection prevention and control. 

  • Basic Infection Control Training for Non-Clinical Staff
    DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness
    This training provides instruction on recognition of and protection from highly infectious and newly emerging threats in the workplace. The online, learn-as-you-go format delivers awareness level training to non-clinical workers in healthcare, as well as public health and law enforcement staff.  

  • Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS)  EMS
    CDC/NIOSH
    This framework provides recommendations for protecting emergency responders during small and large emergencies in any setting. It is for use by all who are involved in the deployment and protection of emergency responders, including: incident command staff, response organization leadership, health, safety and medical personnel, and emergency responders.






  • Ebola: Donning and Doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
    Medscape/CDC
    This video is based on CDC Guidance on Personal Protective Equipment To Be Used by Healthcare Workers During Management of Patients with Ebola Virus Disease in U.S. Hospitals, Including Procedures for Putting On (Donning) and Removing (Doffing), as of October 20, 2014. This video demonstrates one methodology for putting on and taking off personal protective equipment safely.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) often are the most readily available interventions to help slow transmission of infectious diseases in communities, which is especially important before a pandemic vaccine becomes widely available.  The resources in this section provide examples.



Medical countermeasures (MCMs) can include vaccines, antiviral drugs, antitoxins, antibiotics, and materials (e.g., personal protective equipment) that may be used to prevent, mitigate, or treat the adverse health effects of an intentional, accidental, or naturally occurring public health emergency.  This section’s resources come from a collection created by ASPR TRACIE.

  • Mass Dispensing Clinics: Just-In-Time Training (JITT)
    DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness
    This short online course provides and overview of the purpose and functions of a typical Mass Dispensing Clinic.  By the end of the course, learners will be able to identify the standard stations and supporting functions required to operate a Mass Dispensing Clinic, and describe how the Incident Command System (ICS) is used to organize staff.

  • Mass Dispensing Overview: An SNS Perspective
    TRAIN Learning Network – powered by the Public Health Foundation
    This course provides an introduction to the terminology and concepts of mass dispensing at the community level. “Mass dispensing” refers to the delivery of medications or vaccines to the public to address a public health threat; other terms used to describe this activity include “MCM dispensing” and “mass prophylaxis”. Free login required.

  • Medical Countermeasures and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions   Public Health
    National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
    The timely provision of medical countermeasures (MCM) following a large-scale public health emergency such as pandemic influenza, anthrax attacks, chemical releases, and radiological events can ensure that the health and safety of those impacted are protected.

  • Medical Countermeasures: Point of Dispensing (POD), Planning and Response
    FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness
    This online course is meant to enhance jurisdiction preparedness and emergency response efforts by providing the knowledge of how to exercise and revise a plan that utilizes an all-hazards, whole community approach toward a medical countermeasures event. Assists with coordination of planning, training and responding to a Medical Countermeasure (MCM) response for a public health incident.

  • National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Toolbox   Public Health
    NACCHO
    NACCHO has published a wide variety of resources that can be replicated by local emergency planners interested in setting up points of dispensing (POD), exercising their medical countermeasure plans, staffing PODs, and the like. With a free account, users can click on the URL, click on “Toolkits,” select “Medical Countermeasure (MCM) Toolkit,” and review the various tools.”

  • Strategic National Stockpile: 12-hour Push Package
    HHS/ASPR
    These transport-ready containers (strategically located across the country) can supply a community with a broad range of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in the event of a large-scale public health incident related to an unknown agent, or to help initiate response activities while more targeted countermeasures from the “managed inventory” are being mobilized.

  • Dispense Assist
    Johnson County Government, Department of Health and Environment  
    This online tool may be used to pre-screen individuals that will receive medical countermeasures at Point of Dispensing (PODs) sites to support rapid distribution at the PODs. After answering a few targeted questions, users can print out a completed screening form that indicates the countermeasure they should receive at the POD.

  • Medical
    Countermeasures and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions
    National Association of County & City Health Officials 
    This web page includes links to initiatives and helpful information related to medical countermeasures, the Strategic National Stockpile, chemical response, radiation preparedness, pandemic influenza preparedness, and antiviral distribution and dispensing.

  • Recommended
    Infrastructure Standards for Mass Antibiotic Dispensing
    The RAND Corporation, Nelson, C., Chan, E., Chandra, A., et al. 
    The authors share a set of standards that can be used to develop mass antibiotic dispensing plans and focus on points of dispensing (PODs). The standards address “(1) the number and location of PODs, (2) internal POD operations, (3) POD staffing, and (4) POD security.”

  • Medical Countermeasures Program Manual
    Texas Department of Health Services
    This guidance document created for the state of Texas includes information, flow diagrams, and organizational charts that may be adapted by other jurisdictions. The document covers medical countermeasure distribution and dispensing considerations.



  • MCM Exercise Resource Page
    Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
    This web page includes links to HSEEP-compliant exercise documents that were developed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. This series of exercises concluded with full-scale exercises (FSE) of Medical Countermeasure Distribution and Dispensing (MCMDD) in November 2015. Documents will be added as the department develops another set of HSEEP-compliant exercise documents for the entire series that will lead up to the next FSE of MCMDD in November 2020.


This section contains resources for public health and healthcare professionals to conduct infectious disease surveillance and contact tracing following an outbreak. 

    MUST READS

  • Activities of the Healthcare Epidemiologist
    Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    Complete checklist includes 4 fillable tables to help define the healthcare epidemiologist’s (HE) role: Activities in the Emergency Management Program (EMP) and Emergency Operations Plan (EOP); Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Considerations; Resource Management; and Clinical Research. 


  • Field Epidemiology Manual   Public Health
    CDC
    The CDC Field Epidemiology Manual is a definitive guide to investigating acute public health events on the ground and in real time. Assembled and written by experts from the CDC as well as other leading public health agencies, it offers current and field-tested guidance for every stage of an outbreak investigation—from identification to intervention and other core considerations along the way. 

  • Infectious Disease Surveillance, Reporting, and Control   Public Health
    MDPH
    Local health departments, clinical providers, and laboratories will find information here regarding the reporting and control of infectious disease in Massachusetts.
    o   Infectious Disease Reporting
    A discussion of laws and regulations governing local boards of health, healthcare providers, laboratories and other public health personnel on reporting infectious disease
    o   Infectious Disease Case Reporting Forms
    Access case report forms for selected infectious diseases; provides contact information if the relevant form is not found, or for more information about how to report an infectious disease.
    o   Infectious Disease Surveillance Data
    Collected by the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences (BIDLS) and maintained in the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network (MAVEN); disease specific reports can be obtained on this site.


  • Epidemic Information Exchange (Epi-X)
    CDC
    CDC’s Epidemic Information Exchange (Epi-X) is a secure, web-based network that serves as a powerful information exchange. It connects public health professionals involved in identifying, investigating, and responding to public health threats. It provides rapid reporting, immediate notification, editorial support, and coordination between public health professionals during public health investigations.

This section includes training and planning tools to communicate with clients, patients, and the general public to inform and promote safe actions and behaviors during emergencies such as disease outbreaks.  

  • Effective Communication Webinars – February, May & July 2017 
    Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    These expert-led 60 to 90 minute webinars will provide theory and practical advice in effective leadership, clear communication, and conflict management. Experts will address challenges of emergency response, including reprioritization of resources, time constraints, increased demands on healthcare workers, and strategic communications with media and public. 

  • Outbreak Response Tool Kit: Communication, Negotiation, Implementation 
    Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    This resource is one of four tool kits from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Outbreak Response Training Program (ORTP) created to help healthcare providers rapidly find resources important to outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery. This tool kit provides guidance from experts in leadership, business, and behavioral science to maximize effectiveness in outbreak preparedness and response.  This is a resource with lots of good checklists and tips, but will not be able to take the place of training and experience.


    MUST READS



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