Dialysis Functional Exercise Preps Region for Winter Weather

On October 4, 2023 NVERS hosted the region's sixth annual dialysis exercises. The event, attended by over forty (40) representatives of the region's dialysis providers and their local government partners, expanded play to the functional level for the first time. Participants spent the first half of the exercise in a tabletop format, examining preparedness actions in the hours prior to a winter storm impacting the region. The second half of the exercise transitioned to a functional test of the participant's ability to use the Virginia Healthcare Alerting & Status System (VHASS) and to notify the Regional Healthcare Coordination Center (RHCC) of simulated impacts to their facilities. The exercise highlighted the dialysis sector's strong pre-planning processes, which include educating patients on what to do during emergencies, collaborating with one another via the healthcare coalition and the renal network, and working to front-load appointments for patients prior to warned events including severe storms. NVERS would like to thank the Fairfax County Department of Emergency Management and Security for hosting the exercise in their Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and Quality Insights Renal Network Region 5 for partnering to share exercise announcements. A complete after-action report will be posted to the NVERS SharePoint site when completed.