Internet Resources on Emergency Preparedness
Emergency Preparedness
Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail. A well-developed and rehearsed Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) will allow you to respond to difficult situations with limited resources. Board of Health members are a vital component to protect the public's health during day to day operations, as well as during emergency situations. Being able to respond to a major incident, whether caused by a terrorist action or a natural disaster, is an important element in protecting the overall health of a community. By applying the principles of assessment, policy development, and assurance, board of health members can ensure that their communities are prepared. These web pages will help guide boards of health as they develop, plan, and implement preparedness policy.
By utilizing a systematic approach, board members can ensure they are on track with their efforts. Having well defined goals will allow you to work towards them, and prevent you from wasting resources on non-pertinent items.
Key Steps to Preparedness
- Research . Review existing plans and previous efforts at preparedness. There is no reason to totally abandon old plans, which may be improved upon or adapted to address new threats to the public health. If your community currently has no plans, assume a clean slate for making new plans.
- Evaluate. Conduct a community needs and threat assessment. Evaluate what needs the community may have, what types of threats exist, and if any high-hazard facilities or populations exist.
- Discuss. Determine who the stakeholders in this process are and get to know them. Having monthly "disaster committee" meetings will serve as a valuable time to get to know who the key players are. By getting to know your fire, police, EMS, EMA, Red Cross, United Way, clergy, hospital, and other response agencies you will be well on the way to forging strong team bonds with all involved parties.
- Develop . Improve previous plans and be sure to include all current stakeholders. Determine where all agencies fit within the overall Emergency Operations Plan (aka Contingency Plan). It is also important to pre-determine lines of authority, and where each agency will function under the Incident Management System (IMS)(AKA Incident Command System or ICS). Utilize input from all stakeholders when possible. Utilizing information from the needs/threat assessment, develop workable plans of how to respond to these situations. Utilize services available from the stakeholders, and formalize them through written Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs).
- Train. Once a plan is approved by involved parties (after revision and tabletop) it is time to begin education of response individuals. These individuals don't necessarily need to know every portion of the plan, but do need to know how their agency fits in, and what their role would be in an emergency.
- Practice. Once plans are in place and personnel have had ample opportunity to review these plans, it is time to practice. This doesn't mean that training drills won't have mistakes, but merely serves as a reminder to take training very seriously. The way the plan is practiced during a drill will be the way the plan is implemented during an actual response operation.
Emergency Operations Plans should always be seen as a work in progress. Continuous Quality Improvement activities should be undertaken to ensure that the plan works under a variety of circumstances or events.
Health Poll Search
Health Poll Search is a searchable archive of public opinion questions on health issues that allows users to know what Americans think about health issues, as well as what Americans have thought about health issues over time. Health Poll Search is the result of a partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut. The Roper Center houses an archive of more than 350,000 public opinion questions dating back to 1935. The Health Poll Search archive covers 29 topics and more than 300 subtopics, and holds more than 60,000 questions on health issues from health care surveys that have included questions on health. These questions provide information on public perceptions of HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, health policy and health reform, Medicare and Medicaid, women's health, the uninsured, minority health, and children's health. Response percentages and source information are provided for all questions.
KaiserNetwork.org
KaiserNetwork.org provides up-to-date information on health policy issues. They have daily reports on health policy, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health; a health poll search section; web casts of various programs or reports; an e-mail notification services and state health facts online.
National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO)
The NDPO is "the clearinghouse for state, local and federal weapons of mass destruction information and assistance." The site provides a blue print on domestic preparedness, information bulletins, services and emergency responders. The program, from the Department of Justice, also assists state and local response agencies in their preparation of domestic terrorism by offering financial assistance, training resources, technical assistance, assessment and exercises.
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risk
This report, available in PDF format, assesses the risk of modern weapon proliferation.
Tox Town
Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), Tox Town is "an interactive guide to commonly encountered toxic substances." It is designed to provide information on: everyday locations where toxic chemical may be found; non-technical descriptions of chemicals
links to selected, authoritative chemical information on the Internet;
how the environment can impact human health; and Internet resources on environmental health topics.
US Department of Health & Human Services Disaster Site
Various links to preparedness, planning, and response.
Training
Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness(A-CPHP)
This site provides information about the network of 21 A-CPHP is a unique partnership between accredited schools of public health and state and local health departments. The power of the network lies in the partnerships. It provides a countrywide defense system through the preparation of front-line public health workers and first responders.
Center for Health Policy at Columbia University
The Center for Health Policy (Center) at Columbia University School of Nursing is a research and policy development center committed to improvement of health and health systems. The site contains links to their Emergency Preparedness Training Products as well as public health workforce competencies in bioterrorism and emergency preparedness .
FEMA Online Training
Courses in various topics relevant to Emergency Planning and Command are available online through this website.
Incident Command System
Online website established to educate participants on the Incident Command System(ICS).
Public Health Training Network (PHTN)
Sponsored by the CDC, the PHTN is a distance learning system. It offers "training opportunities to professionals in public health settings, and, increasingly, in health care and related settings." In addition to history and overview of the PHTN process, the site contains information about videoconferences, audio conferences and meetings.
WMD First Responders
This website was created by first responders to help improve the response capabilities of emergency communications centers, EMS, fire, rescue, hazmat, law enforcement, bomb squads, SWAT, hospitals, public health, risk management, security, emergency management, public works, disaster management, American Red Cross, and other responder agencies/organizations.
See also: Immunization & Vaccination
