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WAHVE Questions and Answers
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What is WAHVE, and what does the
acronym stand for?
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What is ESAR-VHP, and what does
the acronym stand for?
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What will WAHVE do?
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What information
will WAHVE collect?
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Who can sign up?
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What about
retired medical personnel?
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Will
health care practitioners have to meet training requirements in order to
register?
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Will
volunteers who register with WAHVE have their background checked?
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What happens when a background check discovers potential issues?
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What is the difference
between registering as a volunteer locally and registering on WAHVE?
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Should I join a local Medical Reserve Corps or emergency management volunteer unit in addition to registering on WAHVE?
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How
will WAHVE work with and support MRCs?
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What is DOH doing to
coordinate WAHVE with local volunteer programs?
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Will the federal government
have access to the WAHVE database?
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Who will have access to WAHVE?
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How
will local jurisdictions contact volunteers that have registered in their
area?
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Will local authorities/registered system
users be informed if registered volunteers from their area/jurisdiction
have been deployed elsewhere?
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Will the Wahve database be available at all times?
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Will DOH manage the emergency deployment of health care
practitioners who register in the WAHVE system?
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What about out-of-state deployments as they relate to the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)?
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Will DOH funds be available to support local efforts to use
and organize the additional volunteers generated by the WAHVE system?
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When
will WAHVE be available?
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How will the WAHVE system be rolled out?
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How will DOH market WAHVE to prospective medical volunteers?
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What is DOH doing to ensure partner interests are met?
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Where can I go for more information about WAHVE?
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1. What is WAHVE,
and what does the acronym stand for?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has directed all
states to develop a Web-based system for registering health care
professionals who are willing to volunteer their services during an
emergency. The HHS goal is to create compatible state systems that make it
possible to share volunteers between states when needed. The system
Washington is building to meet the HHS mandate is called WAHVE. WAHVE
stands for WAshington Health Volunteers in Emergencies.
2. What is
ESAR-VHP, and what does the acronym stand for?
HHS’s initiative for state development of on-line registration of health
care volunteers is called ESAR-VHP. ESAR-VHP stands for Emergency System
for the Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals.
3. What will WAHVE
do?
WAHVE will:
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Help local governments obtain
the additional healthcare personnel they will need during a health care
emergency by:
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Serving as a centralized
registry and licensure verification system for volunteer health care
professionals in Washington State.
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Providing a resource for
organizations including local health departments, emergency management
agencies, and other volunteer programs including the Medical Reserve
Corps (MRC).
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Make it easier to move
healthcare volunteers from state to state. All state systems will
collect a standard set of data making it easier to identify the kind of
volunteers needed, check their credentials and incorporate them into
local delivery systems.
4. What
information will WAHVE collect?
WAHVE will collect volunteer contact information, and note specialty
qualifications and geographical preferences for volunteering. The system
will then verify that the medical volunteer’s license is unencumbered.
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Medical Volunteers
5. Who can sign
up?
We plan to open WAHVE to most DOH-licensed health care and public health
professionals. Our goal is to serve as a resource for as many health
care and public health professionals as possible.
6. What about
retired medical personnel?
DOH recognizes the value of retired medical personnel for surge capacity
needs. They are among the categories of volunteers WAHVE will be capable
of registering in later stages of system development. Please note that
retired medical personnel can currently register with their local MRC unit
if one is available in their community.
7. Will health
care practitioners have to meet training requirements in order to
register?
No. Specialized training is not a pre-requisite for registering with WAHVE.
Training will be offered locally by MRC units and/or emergency management
jurisdictions. When volunteers register on WAHVE, they will be able to
include emergency training courses along with their other qualifications
and experience.
8. Will
volunteers who register with WAHVE have their background checked?
Although, criminal background checks are not made at the time volunteers
register with WAHVE, regular background checks and checks for outstanding
disciplinary actions will be made for all volunteers listed in the
database.
9. What happens
when a background check discovers potential issues?
When a background check indicates a potential issue, DOH’s Health Services
Quality Assurance office will determine whether or not the criminal
violation should result in disciplinary action against the licensee. If an
action is taken against a registered volunteer that results in a license
suspension, that individual will be removed from the WAHVE system until
the disciplinary requirements have been met. DOH will develop procedures
for communicating this information to local volunteer programs.
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WAHVE and local
volunteer systems
10. What is
the difference between registering as a volunteer locally and registering
on WAHVE?
Emergency response is a local responsibility. Local agencies will build
medical practitioner emergency surge capacity through local Medical
Reserve Corps (MRC) units and other volunteer structures. To work as a
volunteer locally, you will need to register with your local medical
volunteer organization. Registering on WAHVE will not register you with
your local volunteer organization.
The WAHVE system will provide additional opportunities for volunteers who
are willing to work as volunteers outside of their area in other counties
or possibly other states. It will also help local agencies and MRC units
identify additional health care practitioners from other localities who
are interested in volunteering in their area when needed.
11. Should I join
a local Medical Reserve Corps or emergency management volunteer unit in
addition to registering on WAHVE?
DOH strongly recommends that you volunteer with your local Medical Reserve
Corps and/or local emergency management volunteer unit for several
reasons:
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In most areas, volunteers will
be required to take training through their local Medical Reserve Corps
or Emergency Management office prior to serving in their community.
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Only local emergency management
agencies and MRC can register volunteers as emergency workers.
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To have liability protection,
volunteers must register with their local MRC unit and/or emergency
management office. Recent Washington State legislation (House Bill 1073)
will significantly enhance existing liability and immunity coverage for
medical volunteers. But again, volunteers will have to register as local
emergency workers to ensure coverage.
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ID cards are only issued by
local MRC units and/or local emergency management agencies. Volunteers
must affiliate themselves with one of these programs to get an ID card.
To locate a MRC unit in your area,
go to the
MRC location page for Washington..
12. How will
WAHVE work with and support MRCs?
If a local community/jurisdiction has a Medical Reserve Corps unit or
other volunteer program, it can use WAHVE to recruit members. In some
cases, volunteers who register on WAHVE may choose not to join local
groups.
13. What is
DOH doing to coordinate WAHVE with local volunteer programs?
As we continue planning, we are committed to making sure the WAHVE system
will augment local volunteer systems including local Medical Reserve Corps
units. DOH recognizes there are still many details to be worked out, but
we sincerely expect WAHVE to be a valuable resource at the local level. We
will continue to keep all channels of communication open with our program
partners.
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Information for System Users
14. Will the
federal government have access to the WAHVE database?
The federal government will not have access to the database. When there is
a national emergency and the federal government or others states ask for
specific types of health professional volunteers, DOH will access the
database to identify individuals with the proper qualifications who have
indicated their willingness to volunteer nationally. DOH will then make
that information available to the requestor, in coordination with the
state EMD, based on standard procedures. Only a limited number of
authorized persons in DOH and authorized local users from the emergency
management agencies and local health jurisdictions will have
identification and passwords that allow access to the system. Local
authorized users will be able to view only information about volunteers
who have indicated a willingness to volunteer in their county.
15. Who will
have access to WAHVE?
DOH will identify system users in each county and/or LHJ. Ideally, at
least two people from local emergency management and two people from local
health will be identified and trained as system users. One of the local
health system users should be the local MRC Coordinator, if applicable. It
may take several months to identify system users in each jurisdiction.
Those who show the greatest interest in using the system will be the first
to receive system access and user training.
16. How will
local jurisdictions contact volunteers that have registered in their area?
This will have to be determined locally, depending on partnerships and/or
agreements between local emergency management and local health
jurisdictions. System users will have the opportunity to establish local
protocols for using WAHVE. In some jurisdictions, local health might take
the lead and in others, local emergency management might take the lead.
17. Will local
authorities/registered system users be informed if registered volunteers
from their area/jurisdiction have been deployed elsewhere?
WAHVE will track the deployment status of all registered volunteers. DOH
is working with the system vendor to determine if the system can be
programmed to automatically notify authorized local users in a volunteer’s
county of residence whenever a registered volunteer is deployed outside of
that county. Notification information would include the date and
anticipated duration of the deployment.
18. Will the
WAHVE database be available at all times?
We are working to give authorized local users access to the system in both
emergency and non-emergency situations Specific procedural details are
being worked out.
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Deployment and Logistics Information
19. Will DOH
manage the emergency deployment of health care practitioners who register
in the WAHVE system?
No, except in the event of a national emergency and/or a request for
volunteers from another state. Ordinarily, DOH will not have a role in
deploying volunteers. If a local EOC requests - through the State
Emergency Management Division - that DOH search for additional volunteers
in the database, DOH will help local authorities identify volunteers.
Emergency management authorities will manage the deployment.
20. What
about out-of-state deployments as they relate to the Emergency Management
Assistance Compact (EMAC)?
WAHVE will be used to facilitate out-of-state deployments. When there is a
national emergency and local resources have been exhausted, DOH will use
the database to identify qualified individuals who have indicated their
willingness to volunteer nationally. DOH will then make that information
available to the requestor, in coordination with the state EMD and EMAC
system. DOH is working with the system vendor to determine if the system
can be programmed to automatically notify authorized local users in a
volunteer’s county of residence whenever a registered volunteer is
deployed outside of that county. Notification information would include
the date and anticipated duration of the deployment.
21. Will DOH
funds be available to support local efforts to use and organize the
additional volunteers generated by the WAHVE system?
At this time, there are no plans to provide local funds to support the use
of WAHVE volunteers. If WAHVE greatly impacts local programs, this could
be a topic for future consideration.
22. When will
WAHVE be available?
Roll out is scheduled for summer 2008.
23. How will
the WAHVE system be rolled out?
Details have yet to be finalized. We will keep interested stakeholders
updated on our specific plans through internal communications channels and
the media.
24. How will
DOH market WAHVE to prospective medical volunteers?
DOH will promote WAHVE through the strategic distribution of marketing
materials, presentations at conferences and mailings to licensed medical
providers throughout the state. DOH is holding discussions with several
medical associations to market WAHVE to their members.
25. What is
DOH doing to ensure partner interests are met?
To ensure that program partner interests are addressed, a group of
stakeholders, including representatives from emergency management, local
health and other volunteer groups communicate on a monthly basis to
provide feedback and support for the new system. Regular information
updates will be made to other groups as requested.
26. Where can I
go for more information on WAHVE?
Please contact:
Scott Carlson, DOH Volunteer Systems Coordinator at
360-236-4086 e-mail:
scott.carlson@doh.wa.gov
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