PHEP Coordinator Visits FEMA
North Country Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Attends FEMA Healthcare Emergency Management Training
North Country Health Consortium, home of the North Country Public Health Network, recently deployed Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Coordinator, Jim Richardson, to attend the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Training Center in Anniston, Alabama. Richardson, a career Public Safety and Emergency Management veteran, completed the 4-day training, titled “Framework for Healthcare Emergency Management”. The course is designed for personnel who are responsible for the development, implementation, maintenance, and administration of emergency management programs and plans for healthcare facilities. This training marks Richardson’s 4th trip to the Anniston FEMA site for training.
PHEP Coordinator
Richardson joined the North Country Health Consortium (NCHC) in the Summer of 2018. He collaborates with several regional partners, including healthcare and long-term care agencies. “I am happy to be able to leverage my past work experiences in the field of public safety and emergency management with my North Country partners,” said Richardson.
The PHEP Coordinator works with regional partners to emphasize planning for points of dispensing. POD is a federally instituted best-practice model designed to provide medications, vaccines, or medical supplies to the community during a public health emergency. The Coordinator also assists partner organizations in conducting emergency drills and exercises. They must compliance with the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Emergency Preparedness rules.
Effective November 2017, these rules require seventeen provider types, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community health centers, to have emergency operations plans. As well as conduct drills and exercises. They must have policies and procedures in place in the event their facility experiences an emergency.
“A recent exercise with the Coos County Nursing Hospital was enthusiastically attended by staff from the hospital, NH State Police, Coos County Sheriff’s Department, Bellows Falls Fire and Rescue Department, and the 45th Parallel EMS agency,” said Richardson. “We were able to help connect these various response agencies for a day of interactive scenarios to help ensure the safety and security of staff, residents, and responders.”
About Richardson
Before joining NCHC, Richardson spent two years in Massachusetts. He was the PHEP Coordinator and Program Manager for forty-nine cities and towns with a population of 1.7 million residents. Richardson has eight years of PHEP experience in his home state as a Public Health Network Coordinator in southern NH.
No stranger to northern NH, Richardson has also partnered with many North Country schools and school administrative units (SAUs) during his time working on the NH Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s (HSEM) School Safety and Security Program. As a retired Battalion Chief for the Derry, NH Fire Department, Richardson’s early career included twenty-six years in public safety services.
About North Country Health Consortium
The North Country Health Consortium is a non-profit public health organization based in Littleton. They collaborate with health and human services providers serving northern New Hampshire. For more information about NCHC and the North Country Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, visit NCHCNH.org. Or contact Jim Richardson: jrichardson@NCHCNH.org or (603) 259-3700 x255.