The UNMC Health Professions Tracking Center (HPTC) has partnered with the Nebraska Health and Human Services System to implement an advanced registration and credentialing system of Nebraska clinicians and health volunteers.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires an Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) in every state — including Nebraska — that receives Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program Award. The system is necessary to augment effective surge capacity needs and is a critical milestone in determining the preparedness of Nebraska’s health care systems.
“Our goal is to network everyone so health professionals across the United States can be accessed in a state or national emergency,” said HPTC’s Karen Levin, who is serving as the ESAR-VHP project manager. “ESAR-VHP is distinguished from other volunteer registration systems because credentials are checked and verified.”
Levin, director of HPTC Business Development, works in collaboration with Nebraska Health and Human Services System’s Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Coordinator Ruth Cover.
“We are very excited about working with NeHHS on this critical project for Nebraska residents,” Levin said. “HPTC has been in the business of collecting health professions data and verifying credentials for 10 years and we pride ourselves in having current, state-of-the-art data. Nebraska is in an enviable position in partnering with HPTC because of our experience in this area.”
More than 50 professionals attended the inaugural ESAR-VHP stakeholders meeting in Lincoln in October. The group’s interest and enthusiasm for developing a workable, coordinated structure for managing Nebraska’s volunteer resources was apparent, Levin said.
Participants left with a better understanding and willingness to assist the state in establishing a comprehensive registry system of volunteer health professionals, said Joann Schaefer, M.D., Nebraska’s chief medical officer.
Professionals are encouraged to register as health services volunteers in the event of an emergency. Registration does not obligate an individual to a response, but allows them to be contacted by the state for availability during a state or national emergency. Register online at https://nedss.state.ne.us/ESAR-VHP/faces/jsp/home.jsp or learn more about ESAR-VHP at www.unmc.edu/hptc.