The Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year, national hotline dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. 

www.samhsa.gov

Talk To Someone Now. Share . Share on facebook Share on twitter Share with email. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States. Directory.

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

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The Western Regional Alliance for Pediatric Emergency Management Receives $3 Million Federal Grant to Establish a Pediatric Disaster Care Center of Excellence

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has awarded The Western Regional Alliance for Pediatric Emergency Management (WRAP-EM), led by a team at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, a $3 million grant to develop one of two Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence (COE) in the country. 

As part of the grant, WRAP-EM will develop a model for improving emergency pediatric disaster response capabilities throughout the region. Its goal is to examine pediatric disaster care needs, address weaknesses in emergency communication or access and uncover unknown challenges that could be detrimental in a crisis.

WRAP-EM ties together organizations and pediatric disaster expertise from Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona, representing 13 million children from across the five states. Multiple institutions and agencies across the western region are actively involved in the alliance including 17 medical centers, 10 universities, 2 NETEC biocontainment centers, poison control centers, state and local emergency management agencies and private health care delivery systems.  From all of these organizations, more than 60 individuals and subject matter experts covering a multitude of response scenarios have united with a single mission: to impact the capacity and capabilities on the West Coast to respond to pediatric patients in a disaster.

How Kaiser Permanente Prepares for Disasters

Published in HBR Magazine (Harvard Business Review)

by Tom Hanenburg, Shakiara Kitchen, and Suzy Fitzgerald
December 26, 2019

In 2017, as the Tubbs Fire made its dramatic and rapid assault on Santa Rosa, California, our doctors, nurses, and support staff faced the unimaginable task of evacuating the hospital. It was a job that many, if not most, of them never imagined doing in their careers. And yet, again this fall, wildfire threatened the facility. As the Kincade Fire made a slower — though no less deliberate — approach, our staff again halted surgeries, labor deliveries, and more and packed up patients. Both times we safely evacuated more than 120 patients and ensured care continuity under extreme duress.

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