The South Dakota Healthcare Preparedness Coalition currently has an opportunity to participate in this year’s annual Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA).
The HVA is a key tool the coalition uses to better understand risks across the state and to help guide planning, training, and exercise priorities. Your participation helps ensure the assessment reflects real-world conditions across health care and partner organizations. This year’s HVA includes participation from health care, public health, long-term care, dialysis, EMS, and emergency management, allowing the South Dakota Department of Health to capture a more complete, statewide picture of preparedness and risk.
For this HVA cycle, they strongly encourage facilities to use the coalition HVA tool and participate in the joint HVA process. Using a common tool improves consistency, allows them to better analyze trends, and helps ensure the results can be meaningfully incorporated into coalition planning and plan updates.
If your organization is unable to use the coalition tool—or chooses not to—you may share an existing HVA instead. They will incorporate that information where possible, understanding there may be some limitations. Participants may complete the HVA at their convenience using the included Excel tool. Information gathered through this process will be used to inform development of the South Dakota Healthcare Preparedness Coalition Emergency Operations Plan, and to guide future training and exercises based on identified gaps and priorities.
To access and download the Excel tool – click here
Please submit completed HVAs to Mary Richardson at mary.richardson@state.sd.us no later than March 21, 2026.
