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May 11, 2023

Future Meetings

See all GHA meetings.

 Resources

GHA Coronavirus Information

COVID-19 information and resources.

Ebola

The Department of Public Health (DPH) offers answers to your Ebola questions.

State Epidemiologist

24-hour access to a State Epidemiologist: 1-866-PUB-HLTH.

CDC Information

Visit www.cdc.gov to stay up to date on current information.

Disaster Mental Health

The Georgia Disaster Mental Health website addresses the mental health components of disasters.

Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) visit to access behavioral health services.

SAMHSA: Preventing Suicide

Visit the suicide prevention resource page.

GHA Announces New Director of Emergency Preparedness

Effective July 1, Mallory Garrett will be the new Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) director of emergency preparedness. Mallory has been GHA’s emergency preparedness communications manager for the past two years. Mallory will be training with Adrianne Feinberg until Adrianne’s retirement at the end of June.

Georgia Project Firstline

This month, Project Firstline is joining the American Nurses Association to celebrate and acknowledge all nurses who make significant sacrifices to ensure patients receive high-quality health care and treatment.

FBI Releases Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2022

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its annual report, Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2022, in April. The FBI defines an active shooter as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter’s use of a firearm. The active aspect of the definition implies the ongoing nature of an incident, and thus the potential for the response to affect the outcome. Given these criteria for active shooter incidents, the report does not encompass all gun-related shootings occurring in 2022, such as gang-related violence, drug violence, or self-defense.

CDC Updates COVID-19 Universal Masking, Nursing Home Admission Testing Guidelines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 infection control and prevention guidelines. CDC addresses two key issues in the updated guidelines—universal masking in health care facilities (also known as “source control”) and testing patients for COVID-19 upon admission to nursing homes.

Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Contaminates an Entire Hospital ICU

The intensive care unit of a hospital is often where the most vulnerable patients go for treatment. While you might think this is a secure location, away from disease and infection, a new study finds that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can still make their way into the ICU. Researchers say an ICU in Hangzhou, China was entirely contaminated with a virulent strain that infected one in three patients — creating a nightmare for healthcare professionals.

New Advanced Weapons Detection System Coming to Schools in Jefferson County Kentucky

The Jefferson County Board of Education voted to approve advancing a proposal to implement new safety measures at Jefferson County Public Schools. It's different from metal detectors in that it uses artificial intelligence-based technology to detect weapons. It allows people to walk through without removing their bags or emptying their pockets. A guard monitors the system on a tablet and is alerted when a weapon is detected on a person.

NEWSLETTERS

ASPR TRACIE The Express - April 2023

CISA Community Bulletin - April 2023

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Daily Digest Bulletin - May 2023

Georgia Weekly Influenza Report - Week 17

HHS Office of IEA COVID-19 Update - May 11

North Georgia Health District Newsletter: Emergency Preparedness - May 5

MESH Weekly Situational Awareness Brief - May 5

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - May 5

News & Notes - May 5

EDUCATION

Emergency Preparedness Systems Training:

Everbridge Training

GHC911 Training

June

2023 Georgia School Safety and Homeland Security Conference

June 19-21

Joint Commission Emergency Management Conference

June 20-22

RESOURCES AND REMINDERS

Georgia Hurricane Response Hub

The Georgia Hurricane Response Hub has trainings and resources to help public health and health care professionals with their hurricane and disaster response duties.

Reminder: Identify, Isolate and Inform!

Identify, Isolate and Inform: It is important to continue to ask travel questions. The purpose of this notice is to remind health care providers about actions to take in Georgia when evaluating patients for possible serious communicable diseases!

Travel Clinical Assistant (TCA)

The Travel Clinical Assistant provides post-travel clinical information on travel-related diseases for 231 countries. Diseases with recent outbreaks occurring in the last two years are listed first.

ONLINE PREPAREDNESS TOOLS and

TIPS & TRICKS

GHA911

Go to the GHA911 homepage.

WebEOC

Add your facility to WebEOC.

Everbridge

Sign up for an Everbridge account

Accessing Tech Support

Mallory Garrett is GHA's Emergency Preparedness Communications Manager. Contact her at mgarrett@gha.org, 770-249-4532 (office) or 706-934-0711 (cell).

If you need to reach GHA for a Disaster/Emergency Preparedness-related issue after hours, please contact Adrianne Feinberg, 678-427-2979 or Mallory Garrett, 706-934-0711.

The Disaster Readiness Line Newsletter is circulated by Georgia's Healthcare Coalitions to our emergency preparedness partners.

Georgia Hospital Association

380 Interstate North Parkway SE

Suite 150

Atlanta, GA 30339

770-249-4500

www.gha.org

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