Spring conference prepares hospitals for emergency management
Hospital emergencies can vary from natural disasters to cyberattacks. The 2023 Iowa Society for Hospital Preparedness and Emergency Managers Spring Conference will present a variety of scenarios to emergency and preparedness managers.

Participants will hear from their colleagues at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital about preparing for a trauma surge. Brandy Hennessey, RN, emergency department nurse, and Ryan Sundermann, M.D., emergency department medical director, will discuss the hospital’s “15 ‘til 50” model that prepares staff for 50 patients to walk through the emergency department's doors in the next 15 minutes.

Kurt Kramer, information technology manager, and Heidi Solheim, MBA, chief operating officer, Waverly Health Center, will share their experiences of responding to a cyberattack in 2020.

Participants also will discuss:

• Recurring Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations and ways to prevent them.
• Running effective meetings when time is limited.

The conference is scheduled from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, March 21. Email Autumn McGill at IHA with questions.

Registration open for HRSA loan-repayment program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is accepting applications for its National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. Full- and half-time licensed primary care clinicians in eligible disciplines can receive the loan-repayment assistance. Eligible disciplines include clinicians who provide patient care for:

• Behavioral and mental health.
• Dental.
• Primary care medical.

Clinicians practicing at a National Health Service Corps-approved site can receive up to $50,000 for a full-time two-year initial term and up to $25,000 for a half-time two-year initial term. HRSA has provided a loan-repayment program checklist. Applications must be submitted online by Tuesday, April 25.

Agencies release cybersecurity guidance for health care organizations
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provided recommendations to help health care and other critical industries protect their networks from malicious cyber actions. The agency highlighted the importance of collecting and monitoring logs for unusual activity and regular testing to ensure security processes and procedures are up to date.

CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigations also released recommendations to protect organizations from the latest Russian-linked Royal ransomware variant.

Register for telehealth policy update webinar
The Great Plains Telehealth Resources and Assistance Center is hosting a webinar reviewing recent changes in state and federal telehealth policy. Jonathan Neufeld, Ph.D., will discuss:

• Developments in interstate licensure compacts.
• Medicaid updates.
• Policies affected and not affected by the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Telehealth Policy Update and Overview webinar is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, March 17. The Great Plains Telehealth Resources and Assistance Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

IHA also is hosting a webinar to help hospitals prepare for the termination of the COVID-19 public health emergency. A group of seasoned health care attorneys will provide updates about:

• Agency enforcement discretion.
• Blanket waivers.
• Fraud and abuse waivers.
• Telehealth waivers.