Reminder: Emergency Preparedness Drills and Webinars for Non-NYC ACFs, Home Care, and Nursing Homes

The Department of Health’s (DOH) Office of Health Emergency Preparedness will be conducting a series of emergency preparedness exercises in January and February. One of the goals of the drill is to test the communications in the event of an emergency. Providers will be given a scenario which will require them to respond to a survey on the Health Commerce System (HCS). The drill will involve adult care facilities, nursing homes, and home care agencies statewide with the exception of the five boroughs of New York City. For nursing home and home care providers that must comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Emergency Preparedness rule, participation in the exercise will fulfill one of the exercise requirements.

DOH will be holding informational webinars this month and next month to provide additional information and prepare providers. Click here to find a schedule of the webinars; the remaining are scheduled for Feb. 1^st and 2^nd. The instructions provide the information that you need to join. DOH has provided this presentation, which will be discussed during the webinar. While you can select any of the webinars to participate in, the Department has provided the below schedule for drills, so ideally the Capital District and Central New York providers should have participated in the January webinars. If not, you may still participate in the exercise and follow the instructions given when the exercise is initiated.

Capital District	Jan. 22^nd – Feb. 2^nd
Central New York	Jan. 17^th – Jan. 31^st
MARO – Long Island	Feb. 5^th – Feb. 16^th
MARO – LHV	Feb. 19^th – March 2^nd
Western Region	Feb. 12^th – Feb. 23^rd

The Department referenced an After Action Report on the webinar. They will be asking providers that participate in the exercise to complete the report. This template can be accessed here.

Members are encouraged to review your roles in the HCS before the drill to ensure that the key roles are populated and accurate. Providers are strongly encouraged to participate in a webinar to learn what will be expected and how to successfully participate in the drill. Again, the webinars and drill are not for New York City providers; they will be offered city-specific exercises.

Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828