TSA-B Regional Advisory Council (BRAC)
BRAC Health Care Coalition (HCC)
The Health Care Coalition (HCC) within TSA-B encompasses the counties listed on the Home page. The HCC is used to bring healthcare providers together to prepare for future disasters and interruption of services. Members of the HCC include acute care hospitals, EMS services, long-term care facilities, nursing home facilities, and any other facilities that fall under CMS regulations.
The Value of Health Care Coalitions in Preparedness and Response
HCCs—groups of individual health care and response organizations (e.g., hospitals, EMS, emergency management organizations, public health agencies, etc.) in a defined geographic location—play a critical role in developing health care delivery system preparedness and response capabilities. HCCs serve as multiagency coordination groups that support and integrate with ESF-8 activities in the context of incident command system (ICS) responsibilities. HCCs coordinate activities among health care organizations and other stakeholders in their communities; these entities comprise HCC members that actively contribute to HCC strategic planning, operational planning and response, information sharing, and resource coordination and management. As a result, HCCs collaborate to ensure each member has what it needs to respond to emergencies and planned events, including medical equipment and supplies, real-time information, communication systems, and educated and trained health care personnel.
The value of participating in an HCC is not limited to emergency preparedness and response. Day-to-day benefits may include:
• Meeting regulatory and accreditation requirements
• Enhancing purchasing power (e.g., bulk purchasing agreements)
• Accessing clinical and non-clinical expertise
• Networking among peers
• Sharing leading practices
• Developing interdependent relationships
• Reducing risk
• Addressing other community needs, including meeting requirements for tax exemption
through community benefit
(This is from the 2017-2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, November 2016)
For more information contact Craig Williams, TSA-B Preparedness Coordinator, craig.williams@panhandlerac.com
