February 2026
February kicked off on a very good note: GO HAWKS. Such an amazing accomplishment for our team and our State. The pure joy of those attending the victory parade was a thrill to watch, and with an estimated one million fans from all over the state and country, and no significant issues.
As we approach the upcoming months and our planning work for yet another large event season, our community is focused on ensuring that same sense of joy and camaraderie is on display with little interruption. At the Network we are doing our part by continuing to prepare our healthcare partners to be prepared to respond in a coordinated approach if something does go wrong so that we can meet the needs of those who count on us.
It’s important to note as you’re all aware, this work isn’t the single focus for the Network of our collaborators, as we continue to make significant progress on the healthcare operational surge supporting NDMS and each of the DMCCs.
We’ll continue responding to your feedback and the information you’re wanting us to address through the info@nwhrn.org.
Once again GO HAWKS!
We previously shared that we’ve begun socializing the DMCC framework to engage directly with your local DMCC’s. The work is in motion, meeting monthly to move forward the work. We are grateful for the expertise and true engagement from the DMCC’s and response partners directly involved in this work as we ensure local, regional and state nuances are captured in these annexes. We are also moving forward conversations to capture how the State DMCC functions and works alongside regional DMCCs.
Additionally, we are working with regional DMCC leads to form a steering committee which is comprised of DMCC representatives and Network experts. We will continue to be transparent about this work and the mandate of this group to ensure that DMCC work continues to function according to the plans and helping drive forward solutions and implementation as challenges arise.
We continue to support the development of an NDMS exercise with components focused on hospital leadership and patient distribution. This exercise provides an opportunity to engage hospital leadership in a meaningful way while allowing for the patient placement components within hospitals to be incorporated in the MCI exercise, as needed.
As soon as the date is finalized, we will be reaching out to notify the participants.
The meeting to develop the final draft of FIFA 2026 State MCI Annex was held in mid-January. Attendees from healthcare, local health jurisdictions, EMS, and the Department of Health gathered to inform both discussions and the annex. This work will help us refine the annex, which will be posted on the Network website when complete.
Agencies and healthcare organizations across the state are at varying stages of preparation for FIFA World Cup 2026, and we are confident this platform will foster participation from all entities to bolster and help identify any gaps in their planning processes.
On Wednesday, May 6, the Network will be hosting a virtual “FIFA World Cup 2026 Special Event MCI Surge Confluent Goal Tabletop Exercise” for healthcare, EMS and public health partners and others across Washington State.
In addition to the NDMS and FIFA World Cup 2026 Confluent Goal exercises, we are looking forward to an opportunity to participate in a Full Scale Exercise with our NDMS colleagues this upcoming Fall. More information will be shared when available.
While I opened this month’s update recognizing the joy and camaraderie generated from the crisis-free Seahawks Superbowl Celebration Parade, I want to also offer a note of seriousness that recognizes the enormity of effort that goes into long-term community readiness and planning to make such an event possible. Each of you is aware that readiness for planned and unanticipated natural events requires talent, collaboration, resources, leadership, exercises, documentation and a level of partnership that we are proud to boast for our region and our entire state. Often considered “behind the scenes” the success of this event and the daily successes you achieve when securing leadership support, serving even a small community impacted by a crisis, or hosting your own exercises to ready your local healthcare partners, is deserving of equal praise and gratitude!