[Image Source: WTVY.com]

We will be conducting our Statewide Quarterly Communications Drill on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9 a.m. Please mark your calendars!

The scenario for this drill will be a hurricane that impacts all regions of Virginia. Stay tuned for details!

If your facility is participating in the Richmond International Airport Triennial Full-Scale Exercise ("AirEx 2022"), we need additional information to prepare. Please complete this survey so we can prepare exercise documents for you.

AirEx 2022 will be held May 12 and May 13, 2022 at Richmond International Airport.

The scenario will involve an A320 aircraft, with 70 passengers and five crew, crashing after experiencing a mechanical issue during takeoff. The full-scale exercise on May 12th at the airport will involve 70 patient actors. Click here to register.

On May 13th, Central Region hospitals and the RHCC will participate in simulated patient distribution.

• VHASS Resources: https://vhass.org/vhass-resources/
• How To Register For VHASS: https://vhass.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/How-to-Register-for-the-Virginia-Healthcare-Alerting-and-Status-System-VHASS.pdf
• How To Approve New Accounts: https://vhass.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/How-to-approve-your-organizations-VHASS-accounts.pdf
• How To Update Organization Account: https://vhass.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20220309-How-to-update-your-Hospital-Organization-Account-in-VHASS.pdf
• Text Alert Setup: https://vhass.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20220309-How-to-setup-text-alerts-in-VHASS.pdf

If you have not already done so already, please reach out to David Calkins ([email protected]) to provide the number of red, yellow, or green burn patients your facility could take in the first thirty minutes of a burn mass casualty incident. This information will be included in the Burn Surge Annex and will be used to help coordinate distribution of the first wave of patients.  

CVHC will be hosting our Burn MCI Tabletop Exercise virtually on May 3, 2022 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Burn Surge Annex to the Regional Healthcare Emergency Operations Plan aims to improve capacity and capabilities to manage a large number of burn patients.

It is intended to be a high-level, incident-specific response plan that:

• Identifies the subject matter experts and specialized resources that exist within, or external to, CHVC;
• Identifies the mechanisms and processes that will be used to determine which patients go to which facilities; and
• Provides an understanding of how many burn patients each facility should plan to receive.

The annex is not intended to replace your facility's or organization's current plan. It will be a regional document that can tie together all of our resources.

Please click here to register for the TTX.

COVID cases and hospitalizations are on the decline in the region.

Click here for the latest Virginia Hospital COVID-19 dashboard.

In Virginia, 81.4% of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 72.7% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Approximately 2.91 million people have been vaccinated with a booster/third dose.

Cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and the number of COVID-positive patients in ventilators continue to decrease. 

BA.2, the Omicron subvariant, is increasing in the U.S. As of March 19th, it accounted for 35% of cases. It is estimated to be 50-60% more transmissible than Omicron. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. Read the full press release here.

Ex-nurse found guilty on two charges in death of patient: A jury last week convicted former Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult after a medication error contributed to the death of a patient in 2017. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours in a trial closely watched by nurses and medical professionals from across the country, many worried Vaught's case could set a precedent for medical errors leading to criminal charges. Nashville Tennessean - Full Story

U.S. still not prepared for future COVID variants: The new COVID-19 subvariant isn’t yet causing concern among public health officials, but experts warn that the U.S. is not prepared for future variants or surges. The Biden administration and hospitals are gearing up for another potential case surge from the omicron subvariant BA.2, though many experts anticipate it will be minor compared with the virus peaks the country saw with delta and omicron. Hospital managers say their staffs know what to do if there’s another hospitalization surge after two years of battling COVID-19, but the question is whether providers have the resources to get it done. CQ-Roll Call - Full Story; CNBC - More contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant now dominant in the U.S., CDC says