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Crisis Alert: We are responding to Hurricane Helene

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Americares COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness Offerings
The Americares Preparedness Team has developed a plan template and checklist to assist health centers in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The template and checklist are described below, along with a list of free online trainings based on the documents.

Resources for Clinics and Health Workers in a Global Pandemic

Americares is dedicated to helping health centers prepare for disasters so they can continue to provide care for their communities.

Helping Health Centers Prepare a Disaster Plan for COVID-19

Americares is dedicated to helping health centers prepare for disasters so they can continue to provide care for their communities. Americares preparedness experts are providing resources to assist health centers that are on the front lines of health care during a disaster maintain their primary services that are so critical to the vulnerable population they serve.

To supplement the current general Americares Preparedness Planning Guide for Free and Charitable Clinics, Americares has now created a preparedness template specifically designed to guide our global health center response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The information on this page provides downloadable resources to guide overall preparedness planning as well as templates and online training for building a COVID-19 plan specific to each individual health center.  Other online resources are available as well and new content will be added as it becomes available. As always Americares emergency staff are available via email to answer any questions you may have.

Preparedness Resources

Available Training and Resources

Evaluating Health Center Responses

Training Description

This 1-hour training session covers After-Action Reports, Improvement Plans, and debrief conferences. This training guides participants through evaluation techniques to analyze a health center’s emergency response during or after a response. This includes guidance specific to a mid-response evaluation for the COVID-19 pandemic response. 

COVID-19 Response Plan Template and Training

The Americares Preparedness Team has developed a COVID-19 Response Plan Template for health centers.  Available in a downloadable Word format, this template is meant to be edited by the clinic to match local requirements, health center capabilities, and policies.

Download the following:

Instructions on How to Fill out the COVID-19 template (PDF)

Instructions on How to Fill out the COVID-19 template (in Spanish = PDF)

COVID-19 Response Plan Template (download)

COVID-19 Response Plan Template (in Spanish – download)

COVID-19 guidance should be revisited frequently as this is an evolving incident and guidance can and will change. Sections highlighted in grey require center specific information but are not the only areas that should be edited. Inputting specific health center information to the template will help ensure it is applicable and effective for use.

A one-hour training is available to guide participants through completing each section of the template. This training is also available as a 3-hour Interactive Planning Workshop that covers the same information but includes time for health centers to complete the template and ask questions of the specialist. Click below to view Americares: COVID-19 Response Plan Template Training Video.  

Infectious Disease Outbreak Plan Checklist and Training 

For health centers who already have an Infectious Disease Plan, the team has developed a checklist to assess the plan and identify gaps or areas for improvement.

Download the following:

Infectious Disease Outbreak Planning Checklist

Infectious Disease Outbreak Planning Checklist (in Spanish)

A 30-minute training is available to review the checklist and answer questions. Click below to view Americares: COVID-19 Response Plan Template Training.

Evaluating Health Center Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This one-hour training will allow participants to learn about the methods needed to evaluate their health center’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the training, participants will receive an electronic After-Action Report/Improvement Plan Template custom designed for health centers.

Disaster Preparedness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

For these one-hour trainings, participants can choose between three separate topics focused on planning for emergencies while accounting for the effects of COVID-19 on the community and other disasters. Participants can choose from the following sessions:

Hurricane Preparedness During COVID-19

This session covers how COVID-19 is affecting hurricane response and steps health centers can take to prepare. This includes lessons learned from the Americares responses during the 2020 hurricane season so far. Click below to watch the Americares training video on Hurricane Preparedness During COVID-19.

Wildfire Preparedness During COVID-19

This session covers how health centers can prepare for the ongoing and unprecedented 2020 wildfire season. This includes lessons learned from the Americares responses in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Emergency Preparedness During COVID-19

This session covers all-hazards planning tips for any disaster during COVID-19. It includes lessons learned and tips on how COVID-19 is affecting response overall. Click below to view the training video: Americares Emergency Preparedness During COVID-19.

Read and/or download the following documents:

Key Considerations for Emergency Planning During COVID-19

COVID-19 Discussion-Based Exercises

Training sessions can be scheduled for conferences, associations, health networks, or health centers. For more information or to schedule a training please contact preparedness@sandbox.americares.org.

Preparedness Specialists are available for private consultations with health centers. (https://calendly.com/americares/consultation?month=2020-11).

 

 

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Training Sessions

Individual Health Facility Consultations on IPC, WASH, and/or COVID-19

Begin with a 30 minute – 1-hour consultation. Our IPC and WASH specialists are available to answer questions and provide technical assistance for your healthcare facility via an initial 30-minute consultation session.  Following the initial consultation, additional sessions are available upon request.  To schedule an Individual Health Facility Consultation, contact infectionprevention@sandbox.americares.org


Trainings on IPC, WASH, and/or COVID-19

Time for Each Course is 1 hour. To inquire about course scheduling and availability please contact: infectionprevention@sandbox.americares.org


What Your Health Facility Needs to Know About IPC and WASH in the Age of Coronavirus

This training outlines the IPC and WASH strategies health care facilities can employ to prevent or mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2/COVID 19, and provides participants with a greater understanding of how to apply enhanced precautions and adapt operational practices to mitigate risks


You, Me and PPE: What You Need to Know About Appropriate Use of Masks and Respirators

This training provides guidance on the correct use of different types of masks and respirators used in the COVID-19 pandemic and when to use them. 

Americares Magdalena clinic staff in protective gear during COVID pandemic

We’ve Got You Covered: Emergency Measures for PPE

This training is designed to help facilities prioritize the order of actions for PPE use when inventory is limited.


Move ’em In, Move ‘em Out – Triage In the Age of COVID-19

This training provides an overview of best practices for COVID-19 infection prevention screening and triage procedures.


COVID-19 and IPC – A refresher on Standard Precautions and Transmission Based Precautions

tiny picture of the SARS covid-19 virus with spike proteins

The objectives of this training are to review Standard Precautions and Transmission Based Precautions, and identify the key components of contact, droplet and airborne precautions as they pertain to the COVID-19 Pandemic.


What Lies Beneath: Pathophysiology of SARS CoV-2

This training provides an overview of the chronology, pathophysiology, virology, and epidemiology of SARS CoV-2 to date.


Breath of Fresh Air: Our Tips for Improving Building Ventilation in a Health Facility

This training provides an overview of the importance of ventilation in health facility operations, the importance of ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines guidance on how health facilities can improve ventilation through natural, mechanical or hybrid means.


It’s In Your Hands: A Hygiene and Handwashing Approach to Combating COVID-19

This training provides a refresher on hand hygiene, why it’s important and outlines how health centers can promote and optimize hand hygiene practices in their health facilities.


Strategies for Improving Water Services for Healthcare Facilities in the Age of COVID-19

small picture of handwashing

This training provides an overview of the importance of water in health facility operations, and outlines guidance on appropriate implementation of WASH best practices to help with COVID-19 facility preparations.


COVID-19 and the Sanitation Chain: What to Retain and What to Drain Away

This training provides an overview of sanitation considerations in health facility operations, the importance of sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines guidance on appropriate implementation of sanitation best practices.


Environmental Cleaning for COVID-19

This training provides an overview of the latest guidance for environmental cleaning best practices for health facilities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. 


We are continuing to add more trainings as our partners’ IPC and WASH needs with respect to this pandemic evolve. For more information on these offerings or future offerings, please contact: infectionprevention@sandbox.americares.org

COVID-19 Psychoeducational Trainings

Training Sessions

Abbreviated Psychological First Aid (PFA)

This two-hour abbreviated PFA training provides information on how and when to provide psychological first aid to people impacted by a traumatic event, and ways to enhance provider care before, during and after a traumatic event.

March 16, 4-5:30 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Caring for Vulnerable Populations Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic

This one-hour training provides guidance on how health care workers can support the unique physical and mental health concerns of high-risk vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 25, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link

April 1, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Who, Me? Stigma and Discrimination Associated with COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, stigma and discrimination against people of certain ethnic backgrounds, travelers, and residents of areas with high numbers of positive cases, and health care providers have been observed. This one-hour training provides strategies to combat stigma and discrimination, and support those who may be experiencing stigma and discrimination associated with COVID-19.

March 2, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Breaking the Sheep Counting Cycle: Strategies for Improving Sleep During Stressful Times

This one-hour training discusses how emergencies and social distancing affect normal sleep patterns, the consequences and significance of altered sleep patterns and offers recommendations for improving sleep during stressful times.

March 25, 11-12 p.m. ET
Registration Link


You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have: Self-Care Strategies for the Busy Health Professional

The goal of this one-hour training is to increase the ability of providers to identify natural emotional responses to crises, and learn to manage fear, anxiety, and stress reactions in themselves and among the people they serve.

March 18, 11-12 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Social, But Isolated: Strategies to Support Front Line Health Workers Dealing with Personal and Professional Isolation

This one-hour training teaches strategies for managing stress related to isolation, social distancing and quarantining that providers can apply to their own self-care routine, as well as provision of care to their patients.

February 23, 12-1 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Infodemia: Discriminating Between Correct and Incorrect Information

Infodemia has been defined as an overabundance of information that makes it difficult for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance, adding stress, anxiety and misinformation to one’s current state. This one-hour training provides practical and self-care strategies for combating the Infodemic, isolating reliable information, and managing information overload and related stress reactions.


Building Resilience While Navigating Grief and Mourning: Guidance for Frontline Health Workers

This one-hour training discusses the difference between grief and mourning, why mourning is essential to healing, COVID-19’s impact on healthy mourning, and positive coping tools for helping those you serve navigate the grief process.

February 25, 12-1 p.m. ET
Registration Link

March 23, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link


Helping Kids Cope with Grief and Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This one-hour training provides guidance on how grief affects children and teens at different developmental stages; how COVID-19 has impacted this; the importance of normalizing feelings and encouraging expression of feelings; and strategies for helping children understand, express themselves and mourn in healthy ways.

February 23, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link

March 30, 12-1 p.m. ET
Registration Link


A Trauma Informed Approach to Supporting Children and Adolescents in the Age of COVID-19

This one-hour training provides an overview of the common reactions children exhibit when facing an emergency, typical stress responses, and how to communicate with and support children in regaining a sense of security.

March 4, 12-1 p.m. ET
Registration Link

Difficult Issues for Health Care Providers

This one-hour training provides an overview of
provider and system-related issues that may impact
challenging situations. Learn how to use intervention
guidelines and strategies to manage difficult
workplace environments for yourself and
your patients.

March 11, 4-5 p.m. ET
Registration Link

Zoom Fatigue – The Cost of Being in Two Places at
Once

In this webinar, we will explore “Zoom Fatigue.” We’ll
review its symptoms and causes, how to reduce screen
usage and positive coping tools to counteract its effects.
We will finish by looking at some of the positive aspects
of this new lifestyle and ways video chats can help
facilitate mental as well as physical health.

March 9, 12-1 p.m. ET
Registration Link

   


We are continually developing new trainings to meet our partners’ evolving needs. For more information on these courses, or information on other mental health offerings, please contact: mentalhealth@sandbox.americares.org

Americares mental health experts provide essential training and services in preparing for response and recovery from a disaster. Lisa LaDue, Mental Health Specialist offers tips to manage trauma and stress:

Watch videos on mental health in a disaster