DRC Participation Details

DRC Structure

The Disaster Response Collaborative (DRC) builds on the children’s hospital infrastructure formed during the Disaster Networking Collaborative (DNC); however, no prior DNC participation is required.

The DRC is designed to help children’s hospitals shift from improving their disaster preparedness infrastructure and networking toward strengthening their internal as well as external disaster response capabilities and capacities.

These efforts will include refining disaster planning and mobilizing best practices while developing strategies to strengthen pediatric disaster management across states and regions.

As part of the collaborative, children’s hospitals teams will be asked to review their disaster plans for gaps specific to their selected focus area and either participate in a DRC-hosted facilitated, virtual Tabletop Exercises (TTX) or conduct a TTX on their own to identify gaps and establish an action plan for follow-up and improvements. During the second year of the DRC, teams will be encouraged and supported to conduct two drills that can test and monitor improvements. Resources, guidance, templates, and pediatric patient scenarios will be provided.

Participants

Participants have access to consensus driven practices, collaborative sessions, quality improvement strategies, resources, coaching and presentations by experts, and networking opportunities to improve the care of children and adolescents in their community – at no cost.

We encourage teams to have a minimum of two members to be able to share the work and offer diverse perspectives. A larger team allows for additional support and works best.

Team members may include the following: emergency/disaster management professionals, medical directors, emergency coordinators, paramedics, physicians, nurses, social workers, managers, mental and behavioral health professionals, representatives from hospital operations, security, quality/performance improvement, and public relations. Teams can include external members (e.g., community hospital and/or Healthcare Coalition representatives along with an EMSC State Partner Program Manager) if this approach will add value to project work.

Team Leader

The team leader will serve as a point of contact to communicate with participants and support the team to select a focus area and design an improvement project. Team members will work with the team leader to provide input and expertise on the disaster plan and improvement activities.

The DRC sessions will be held from September 2024 through June 2026.

Phase One: September 2024 to February 2025 – 90-minute Monthly Collaborative Sessions with all Participants

• All registered children’s hospital teams meet together on a monthly basis for 6 months to learn about the collaborative structure and expectations, the four pediatric focus areas/topics from experts, and opportunities specific to tabletop exercises and drills.

In early 2025, teams will decide which pediatric focus area or topic to guide their improvement efforts

Phase Two: March 2025 to June 2026 – Pediatric Focus Area Team Meetings and Collaborative Sessions

• Quality improvement projects are discussed within each hospital team and details as well as a timeline are agreed upon.
• Each of the children’s hospitals that selected the same pediatric focus area meet together for two months (i.e. March/April 2025) to discuss strategies and resources specific to the pediatric focus area and to determine options for planning or adapting a tabletop exercise to review a disaster plan (or component in a plan).
• On the third month (May 2025), all collaborative participants meet together.
• The meeting cadence described above will continue throughout the collaborative.
• Teams are encouraged to plan and conduct a tabletop exercise based on existing plans/protocols specific to their pediatric focus area and develop an After-Action report. Using quality (process) measures identified in each Pediatric Focus Area Intervention Bundle Guide, teams will consider whether to test out improvements/achievements and steps identified in the After-Action report to plan and conduct an initial drill, and after improvement interventions a follow up drill, with support and resources from the DRC Drills & Exercises Team.

Please Note: The entire DRC meets quarterly (approximately every 3 months) to share their team’s progress and strategies, participating in breakout groups for networking and collaboration across regions.

Continuing Education

Continuing Education for physicians, nurses, social workers, and EMTs is available through a collaborative of the Pediatric Pandemic Network, Children’s National Hospital, and SSM Health Cardinal-Glennon Children’s Hospital. Participation certificates are also available. Details are available via PPN Continuing Education. Detailed instructions for how to claim credit will be provided during each session and follow up messaging.

Upon completion of the DRC, physicians seeking MOC Part IV credits will be asked to complete an attestation form that will be reviewed. Once approved, the physician will receive a certificate confirming their credits.

Physicians: 25 points of MOC part IV credits are available if requirements are met (regular attendance at collaborative sessions; completion of mid- and post-session evaluations; collecting, analyzing, and reviewing data as well as designing and implementing PDSA cycles with the local site team as part of a quality improvement effort).

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Children’s National Hospital. Children’s National Hospital is  jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Children’s National Hospital Accreditation Provider# 4008362

Credit Designation Statements

ACCME: Children’s National Hospital designates this live/enduring activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM for physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ANCC: Children’s National Hospital designates this activity for a maximum of 1 LIVE/ Enduring ANCC contact hours.

Social Work: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Children’s National Hospital is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social Workers completing this course receive 1 general continuing education credits.

CAPCE: This CE activity is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education for 1 Advanced CEH.

Continuing education credits are available to physicians, nurses, social workers, and EMTs for the DRC.