Spokane Complex Fires Community Washout
September 28th 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Rockwood South Hill Campus
2850 E Rockhurst Ln, Spokane, WA 99223
Rockwood Retirement is hosting a Community Washout at the end of this month. Following the Spokane Complex Fires, this washout provides an important opportunity for long-term care facilities, emergency management partners, healthcare coalitions, and community organizations to come together, reflect on the response, and strengthen preparedness for future emergencies.
The fires demonstrated how quickly conditions can change—and how critical timely communication, evacuation readiness, staffing plans, transportation resources, resident-specific emergency information, continuity of operations, and coordination with community partners are to protecting vulnerable long-term care residents.
During this washout, participants will have an opportunity to:
- Discuss what worked well during the response
- Identify challenges and resource gaps
- Share lessons learned across organizations
- Strengthen communication and evacuation procedures
- Identify opportunities for greater regional coordination
- Turn lessons learned into actionable improvements
Spokane County’s emergency guidance emphasizes the need to be prepared to act quickly as evacuation levels change, while Washington DSHS provides long-term care-specific emergency preparedness resources addressing wildfire, staffing, power outages, and other hazards.
The goal is not simply to review what happened—it is to use the experience to strengthen how we prepare for and respond to the next emergency.
By capturing these lessons while the experience is fresh, Spokane-area long-term care providers and community partners can strengthen regional preparedness, improve resilience, and be better positioned to protect residents and maintain essential services during future emergencies.
We hope you will join us and bring your experiences, observations, and lessons learned to this important regional conversation.
Please RSVP with company name, phone number, email, and how many people will be joining you.
509-536-6650 or email [email protected].
