VA teams assess hurricane assets capabilities

How does VA assess hurricane assets capabilities? VA’s VISN 16, hosted by Overton Brooks VA, held its annual hurricane and deployable assets capabilities at the Bossier City Public Safety Training Complex in Bossier City, Louisiana.

The weeklong exercise, April 30 through May 5, brought VA assets from across the south central United States into one location to demonstrate a continuity of effort to execute the VISN 16 Emergency Operations Plan by activating the hurricane and alternate care annexes. 

“The activation of the hurricane annex demonstrated the ability to effectively use the bed management system in the evacuation of our coastal facilities while activating an alternate care site contingency plan with resources available for sustained operations,” said John Taylor, Overton Brooks emergency manager. “The activation of the logistics plan and advance coordination element teams demonstrated the ability to deploy staff and assets, to ensure continuity of care for Veterans.”

Ensures continuity of care for Veterans

Pictured above, Jerry Lloyd, a member of the Central Arkansas VA emergency management team, secures mobile light towers to a flatbed trailer for transportation to Bossier City. VA teams came to train and learn new capabilities for the upcoming hurricane season. 

VA staff from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and the East Coast brought some of the most advance equipment available for a contingency of this nature.

Some of this equipment includes a state-of-the-art, mobile 50-bed hospital with isolation unit and expansion capabilities, mobile command unit, mobile medical units (provides enrollment, patient care, vaccines, laboratory, social services and mental health needs).

Can be operational in 12-24 hours

Also included were mobile drive through tents and canopies (for drive through testing and vaccinations), mobile Veteran center and readjustment counseling services, and mobile telehealth unit for telehealth medicine specialties.

“We are capable of wholistically serving Veterans and communities during disasters,” said Sonya Stokes-Sumrall, VISN 16 emergency manager. “These sites can be operational within 12-24 hours to ensure the immediate continuity of patient care. We have come a long way since 2017, and our new improved processes and deployable equipment allows this operation to be a self-sustaining and self-sufficient site of care without draining resources from the disaster-stricken community.”