2007 - Alabama Department of Public Health

center for emergency preparedness
Center for Emergency
Preparedness
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
provided $11,332,549 in a cooperative agreement with
the department in 2006-2007. These funds were to be
used in part by the Center for Emergency Preparedness
in providing overall direction to and management of the
department’s assessment, planning, and response to acts
of bioterrorism, other outbreaks of infectious disease,
and other public health threats and emergencies, such as
meteorological, geological, chemical, radiological, and
industrial disasters.
Activities of the center for 2007 included:
• Conducted and participated in a functional exercise
which tested the department’s mass prophylaxis
distribution plan and the deployment of a portable
medical station.
• Coordinated with area emergency preparedness
staff to enhance plans, provide training, and
conduct exercises.
• Responded to calls received by the staff duty
officer.
• Defined the Incident Command System (ICS)
for Public Health, trained each person with a
responsibility within ICS, and exercised the ICS to
test preparedness.
• Developed a Continuity of Operations plan for
keeping the essential functions of Public Health
operational during emergency situations.
• Maintained Emergency Preparedness and Emergency
Response teams in each Public Health Area.
Training activities of the center in 2007 included
collaboration with various universities and vendors to
prepare the workforce and public to respond to public
health threats and emergencies, biological, chemical,
nuclear, radiological and mass trauma. An array of
workshops, tabletops and full-scale exercises were
conducted in each one of the 11 public health areas or one
of the six hospital planning regions.
• 12 Explosion and Blast Trauma training sessions
with 374 in attendance;
• 19 Basic Disaster Life Support training sessions
with 497 in attendance;
The Center for Emergency Preparedness conducted tours of its medical stations that will be used for hospital surge capacity or temporary medical care in an emergency event.
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