Northwest Regional Healthcare Coalition Spotlight
March, 2021
NWRHCC: The Nuts and Bolts
The Northwest Region HealthCare Coalition was established in 2002, in response to a federal government grant to improve preparedness, response and recovery nationwide.
• ASPR (Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response) receives grant funding each year and funnels this money down through the states (VDH is the grant awardee) and their coalitions to meet certain goals of preparedness and response.
• The Northwest Region Healthcare Coalition is one of six (6) coalitions in the state of Virginia. • The NWRHC staff is comprised of four (4) full-time members: Regional Coordinator, Regional Healthcare Coordination Center Manager, Medically Vulnerable Populations Coordinator and an Exercise and Training Specialist.
• Each spring, the coalition conducts a hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA), which combines and synthesizes data from all of the Region’s hospitals.
• The purpose of the HVA is to identify the Region’s specific concerns and needs for training during the following fiscal year. • We have a multitude of plans that are reviewed & revised on an annual basis (i.e. coordination plan, communications plan, etc).
Are We Incident Command?
Not Exactly . . . . The Coalition operates more as a multi-agency coordination system or “MACS”.
Incident Prioritization
When an event notification comes to the RHCC, the coalition staff discusses escalating the event.
Resource Allocation
We have regional resources that we can distribute or can connect members to other available assets
Coordination of Multiple Agencies
We assist in coordinating local, regional & state response.
Planning ahead
The RHCC continuously offers trainings and guidance to stay ahead of potential hazards
Join our Healthcare Coalition
Why not?! It is an added level of assurance that in case of an emergency or incident your health care organization (i.e., Hospitals, Long-Term-Care Facilities
, Local Public Health Districts, Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, and other healthcare organizations) can function effectively before, during and after a crisis.
If you are interested in joining the NWRHCC please contact one of our staff members @ http://nwrhcc.org/contact/.