Healthcare Coalitions

Regional Disaster Dialysis Initiative

As part of the the improvement plan from the Hurricane Claire Exercise (mentioned in the SETRAC section below), UTMB developed a regional dialysis disaster coalition consisting of local dialysis centers, hospitals, EMS, long term care facilities, county health departments and emergency management offices, the private sector, the National Weather Service, and other stakeholders like faith-based organizations. UTMB used computer-generated models to create tabletop exercise scenarios (e.g. hurricane storm surge) for strengthening emergency plans and improving collaboration between coalition members. 

The major goals of this coalition are to:

  • Prepare dialysis centers in our region for disasters by ensuring their emergency plans are up to date and they know how to obtain resources to remain open.
  • Prevent emergency rooms at major hospitals from being inundated by dialysis patients when local centers close.
  • Strengthen communication between coalition members on topics such as facility closures, resource requests, information on notice/no-notice threats, etcetera.


 

Regional Disaster Dialysis Flood Mapping

Storm surge modeling for dialysis centers.

SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC)

UTMB is a member hospital of SETRAC, which is a Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (RHPC) consisting of multiple hospitals, EMS services, public agencies, and private partners. 

Mission: The mission of the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council is to develop and sustain a powerful coalition of providers, responders, and other healthcare related partners united together to save lives and improve health outcomes through research, education and collaboration.

Goals

  • Promote external communication to our constituents through public awareness programs, educational resources, and prevention programs. Identify and integrate our resources as a means to obtaining commitment and cooperation.
  • Identify leverage tactics to promote EMS provider participation.Develop a legislative agenda for procurement of funds related to trauma (direct and indirect), taking into consideration medicolegal aspects, regulatory agencies, pressure groups, and current legislation.
  • Establish system coordination relating to access, protocols/procedures and referrals. These structures will establish continuity and uniformity of care among the providers of trauma care.
  • Promote internal communication as the mechanism for system coordination which will include the EMS providers, consumers, and members of the SETRAC.
  • Create system efficiency for the patient and the programs through continuous quality improvement programs which will identify the patient’s needs, outcome data, and help develop standard uniformity.

More information at: https://www.setrac.org/ 

SETRAC Covid-19 Dashboard

Hurricane Claire Regional Exercise

The 2021 RHPC CMOC Hurricane Exercise series (named Hurricane Claire) was a multiple-agency, multiple-site incidents designed to exercise and assess the capability of the coalition region to respond in a coordinated effort to a region wide Hurricane with cascading effects. This exercise was sponsored by SETRAC.

The purpose of this exercise was to provide participants with an opportunity to evaluate current first receiving concepts, plans, and capabilities related to a severe weather outbreak. The exercise focused on coordination and continuity of operations.

Scenario: The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a Tropical Disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. This disturbance has been given a 40-60% chance to develop into a Tropical Storm. If further development occurs this could be our third named Atlantic Storm of the season, which would be Claire.

Objectives: 1) Assess the ability of the coalition to maintain communications when primary methods are affected.  2) Evaluate the ability of the coalition members to Shelter-In-Place and/or evacuate as required prior to or during a hurricane.