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Consent-Health & Human Services # 15.
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| Board of Supervisors |
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| Subject |
| Approve a California Statewide Memorandum of Understanding for Emergency Medical and Health Disaster Response Mutual Aid and Mutual Assistance for the term of January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2029. (No general fund impact) (Larsen) |
| Recommended Action |
| Approve a California Statewide Memorandum of Understanding for Emergency Medical and Health Disaster Response Mutual Aid and Mutual Assistance for the term of January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2029. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Thriving Residents
Safe Communities |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The County of Yolo (the County) belongs to California Medical Mutual Aid Region IV (Region IV). On May 21, 2019, the County signed an agreement between the counties in Region IV to formalize the medical and health mutual aid/assistance program. However, in recent years, disasters in California have overwhelmed local emergency medical and health response systems and have exhausted mutual aid/assistance from counties within the medical and health mutual aid/assistance regions.
In the event of an earthquake or other disaster where many, if not all, the counties within the region could be impacted, assistance would be needed and requested from jurisdictions outside of the impacted counties. The medical and health mutual assistance program has recently seen extensive use supporting major incidents in California. The Oroville Dam incident, Santa Rosa/Napa Fires, the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, the mudslides in Montecito, and the major fires in Redding and Mendocino County have all relied upon medical and health mutual assistance as a significant part of the response. Medical and health mutual assistance is becoming a routine aspect of disaster response in California.
Thus, the County wishes to opt in to a state-wide medical and health mutual aid/assistance program via a statewide Medical and Health Mutual Aid and Assistance Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under this MOU, counties and local health jurisdictions agree to provide emergency medical and health personnel, equipment, and supplies when they can, in the event of a disaster when an impacted county requests assistance. In addition, the assisting agency may request reimbursement from the impacted county for emergency medical and health personnel, equipment, and supplies. It is anticipated that the County would request assistance from counties within Region IV prior to seeking assistance from counties outside of the region.
The Medical Mutual Aid/Assistance system for California strictly follows the California Department of Public Health’s statewide Public Health and Medical Emergency Operations Manual (EOM). Compliant with the State Emergency Management System (SEMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS), the EOM dictates the pathway for situational awareness and resource requests during a disaster, from the event to the county/operational area, region, and state.
Operationally, the Medical Health Operational Area Coordination (MHOAC) program functions very well. However, there have been significant challenges when it comes to reimbursing providers who supply these resources. These disasters have required assistance from counties outside of the region throughout the state. This was especially evident with requests for environmental health and mental health mutual assistance. Yolo County has sent medical and health personnel to support health response activities in response to the Paradise Fire, which is outside of the Region IV mutual aid/assistance region.
Currently, there is no agreement between the counties and local health jurisdictions for sharing resources and/or financial responsibility for reimbursement outside of one's assigned region. Further, the lack of pre-event agreements to share emergency medical and health resources between counties and local health beyond regional boundaries during a disaster prevents the impacted county from quickly qualifying and/or obtaining potential recovery costs from the State or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
This statewide MOU would allow impacted counties to request resources and counties who are not impacted to share resources during a disaster and seek reimbursement, in accordance with state and federal disaster relief fund requirements. This statewide MOU also provides for an expedited process to access needed resources outside of the existing regional medical and health mutual aid/assistance areas when necessary. Having an MOU in place between all opt in counties in California for medical and health emergency and disaster response, clarifies the process and makes it easier for both the requesting and responding counties to meet the needs of the communities impacted by the events. Further, this MOU provides for a clear process to pay for or be reimbursed for services rendered during an emergency.
The MOU contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Healthy Community by providing a defined framework for emergency medical and health response, mutual aid, and disaster recovery among participating counties.
Performance Measures are not applicable to this agreement. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA)
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
Emergency Medical Services Administrators (EMS)
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES)
County Health Executives Association of California (CHEAC)
California Ambulance Association (CAA)
Emergency Medical Services Administrators’ Association of California (EMSAAC)
County Counsel
The MOU has been reviewed and approved by assigned County Counsels, Health Officers, and Emergency Medical Services Administrators who are designated as the Medical and Health Operational Area Coordinator (MHOAC). The MOU has been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form. |
| Competitive Bid Process |
| Not applicable to this agreement. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
No general funds are required by this action. The total amount of this action is $0 for the period of January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2029.
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