Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan (LTC-MAP) and Healthcare Mutual Aid Plan (HMAP) for Evacuation and Resources / Assets

This plan establishes a course of action and an agreed commitment among participating hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities to assist each other as needed in the time of a disaster.

Assistance may come in the form of:

• Providing pre-designated evacuation locations for patients during a disaster; and/or
• Providing or sharing supplies, equipment, transportation, staff or pharmaceuticals to a facility when a disaster overwhelms their own community or exceeds the capability of internal emergency operations plans.

Why is this initiative underway?

It has been identified in local, regional and national disasters that each community must have a proactive disaster plan and all disasters start locally. To supplement the State of Connecticut Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8 - Health & Medical) operations, this unique plan, coordinated in Region 3 through the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG)/Capitol Region Emergency Planning Committee (CREPC) and in Regions 1, 2, 4 & 5 through the Regional ESF 8 group, will work to prepare all of the healthcare facilities to stand together in a disaster with preplanned resources and assets.

Benefits to the plan include:

• Preplanned Evacuation Strategy - fast evacuation (e.g., Fire/Gas Leak) and delayed evacuation (e.g., Hurricane/Loss of Emergency Power).
• Preplanned Staffing, Supplies, Equipment and Pharmaceutical Support when Isolated.
• Provide local public safety incident commanders with easy on-site access to user-friendly plans including contact information for evacuation resources and key personnel.
• Provide local EMS commander with resources needed to efficiently identify, transfer and track patients to pre-designated receiving sites.
• Development of proactive Communications for ALL parties (healthcare, emergency agencies).
• Ensures coordination with CMED, Local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) and the Regional Coordination Center (RCC - in Region 3) for management of resources and assets.
• Establishment of a Long Term Care (LTC) Coordinating Center and Regional Medical Coordinating Center (RMCC) to coordinate healthcare facility aggregate needs and ensure accountability for "closing the loop" with all member facilities.
• Plan requirements meet CT Department of Public Health (DPH) and The Joint Commission (TJC) community integration and disaster exercise requirements for Emergency Management.