2012 RHPC Preparedness Symposium a Huge Success
Houston – It was another successful year for the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council’s (SETRAC) Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (RHPC) Symposium held earlier this week at the Galveston Island Convention Center, where Galveston Mayor Lewis Rosen proclaimed October 9th Regional Healthcare Coalition Day.
More than 200 local and national participants, speakers, and sponsors came together to share best practices and innovations in healthcare emergency preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.
“Events like these are essential to healthcare preparedness,” said SETRAC Chief Executive Officer Darrell Pile. “We learn from each other, share plans and set goals.”
The symposium provided an avenue for professionals to learn best practices and innovations in their area of expertise and beyond. Topics included hospital preparedness planning, active shooter protective actions, best practices in trauma care, chemical attacks, national preparedness initiatives, state-wide preparedness initiatives, sexual violence in disasters prevention, social media in emergency management and more.
“Every disaster comes with its own unique set of challenges,” said SETRAC Regional Preparedness Director Lori Upton. “At SETRAC we help coordinate large event response and support active incidents.”
Last year for example, an ambulance bus (AmBus) was deployed to the Bastrop wildfires for the first time. Although the 40 foot bus is mainly used for treating and transporting multiple patients, it is also ideal for firefighters to rehabilitate at large fire incidents. Texas has thirteen deployable AmBuses across the state.
SETRAC and RHPC are committed to working with local partners to build strong disaster medical response capabilities that will be critical to mounting successful response and recovery efforts for future disasters.
All symposium presentations will be downloaded within in the next two weeks and available at www.rhpc.us.