Appendix 4 of Annex M
LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• The Local Public Health Emergency Plan (LPHEP) outlines the actions to be taken by the Local Public Health Agency (LPHA), in conjunction with local government officials and cooperating private and volunteer organizations. A local public health emergency can best be described as an event, which threatens the safety and well being of a number of people in an area, i.e. bio-terrorism incident, anthrax, smallpox, pandemic influenza, etc. To work towards a safer environment the plan has been developed to:
Reduce the vulnerability of citizens to any disasters which creates a local public health emergency. |
Establish capabilities for protecting citizens from the effects of a local public health emergency |
Respond effectively to the actual occurrence of disasters, and; |
Provide for recovery in the aftermath of any local public health emergency. |
• The Saline County LPHEP is a multi-hazard, functional plan that has three components:
A Basic Plan that serves as an overview of the LPHAs approach to a local public health emergency. |
Annexes that address specific activities critical to emergency response and recovery, and; |
Appendices which support each annex and contain technical information, details and methods for use in emergency operations. |
• In the Basic Plan you will find the Primary & support Responsibilities for the local health department as well as a Hazard Analysis for quick references. Some of the Annexes & Appendices not normally found in an Emergency Plan are: Homeland Security Advisory System, DHSS Activities Corresponding to the Homeland Security Threat Levels, Personnel Specialized in Bio-terrorism Training, Mass Patient Care, Mass Fatality Management, Nuclear & Chemical Incident, Food & Water Borne Outbreaks and a major enclosure concerning the Smallpox Response Plan.
• The importance of understanding the contents of the plan cannot be underestimated. All individuals who may have any involvement with the plan must be briefed and understand their roles in it's implementation. Staff members of the LHPA will be responsible for maintenance, training, updating and developing exercises to improve the plan.
• The entire LPHEP can be found in the LPHA or with the Emergency Management Coordinator.