January 2026
January is a standard time for new year’s resolutions and seeking to reset or improve upon behaviors and outcomes of the past. I think that mindset is also applicable to the work we do every day as a collaborative and expert group of partners committed to readiness and response across the healthcare system.
In addition to progress made as part of the Rural Critical Access Workgroup, we’re kicking off the year with other important program work nearing deployment. One example is the reality that in just five short months, our state will be welcoming – and responding to – nearly a million potential visitors as part of the FIFA 2026 World Cup. This work isn’t happening in a vacuum, it’s possible due to the collaboration across multiple public entities committed to readiness planning. We’ve also made huge strides on the healthcare operational surge planning supporting NDMS and the DMCCs.
As I share each month, this resource will continue addressing your feedback and the topics you want us to address through the info@nwhrn.org.
Happy New Year!
We are socializing the DMCC framework with our Department of Health colleagues for their awareness! The next step is kicking off the regional annexes, allowing each DMCC to work with their partners to document regional nuances that will support the overall framework. In addition, we will be forming a steering committee made up of DMCC representatives and our Network staff experts. This steering committee will provide mentorship and help ensure that DMCC work continues to function aligned to the plan, while facilitating solutions to identified challenges once the framework is implemented.
We are engaging with the NDMS staff to develop an exercise with components focused on hospital leadership and patient distribution. This exercise provides for 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.
Agencies and healthcare organizations across the state are at varying stages of preparation for the World Cup, and we hope this platform will foster participation from all entities to bolster and help identify any gaps in their planning processes. The next meeting for the FIFA State MCI Annex will be held in mid-January.
Late Spring, the Network will host a virtual “FIFA World Cup 26 Special Event MCI Surge Confluent Goal” tabletop exercise for healthcare, EMS and Public Health partners and others across Washington State
HOLD THE DATE: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 8am to 12:30pm.
More information on the exercise, the registration link, and information on how you can use the scenario to support your local exercise to follow.
The Rural and Critical Access clinical workgroup continues to come together to collect data and better understand transfer times and associated causes of delays in transfers. Beginning in 2026, Rural and Critical Access Emergency Management partners will join our clinical colleagues to expand our knowledge and understanding of the challenges rural and critical access healthcare faces. We’ll share outcomes and observations as a result of this work.