Emergency Preparedness, Planning, and Response

General Information:

Public Health Threats are always present. Whether caused by natural, accidental, or intentional means, these threats can lead to the onset of public health incidents. Being prepared to prevent, respond to, and rapidly recover from public health threats is critical for protecting and securing our nation’s public health. The Emergency Preparedness Division is directed to develop the health department’s capacity and capability to effectively respond to the public health consequences of terrorist threats, infectious disease outbreak, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological emergencies.

Funding:

St. Clair County is one of forty-five local health departments that receive earmarked funding for emergency preparedness. Funding started in 2002 through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement (PHEP) grant.

Emergency Operations Plans:

The health department’s all-hazard Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) are annually reviewed, exercised, and revised as needed to meet stringent requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response.

These plans are constructed to meet the demands of a constant change in the nature and severity of public threats to this county and to be able to coordinate effective and efficient response with local and cross border emergency responders. To help public health departments with their strategic planning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified fifteen public health capabilities to serve as the basis for state and local public health preparedness.

The fifteen capabilities are:

1. Community Preparedness
2. Community Recovery
3. Emergency Operations Coordination
4. Emergency Public Information and Warning
5. Fatality Management
6. Information Sharing
7. Mass Care
8. Medical Countermeasure Dispensing
9. Medical Materiel Management and Distribution
10. Medical Surge
11. Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions
12. Public Health Laboratory Testing
13. Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation
14. Responder Safety and Health
15. Volunteer Management

For additional information and resources, please visit:

• SCCHD Fact Sheets A-Z
• Responding to a Biological or Chemical Threat in the United States
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
• CDC Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity
• Department of Homeland Security: Ready
• Department of Homeland Security: FEMA