Emergency Preparedness
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*BECOME AN EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER*


Bioterrorism

The passage of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 provided funding to all states for bioterrorism (BT) preparedness through a cooperative agreement program operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agreement provides support to state and selected local health departments in the following areas:

  • Preparedness planning and readiness assessment
    • Establish strategic leadership, direction, assessment, and coordination of activities within the jurisdiction.
  • Surveillance and epidemiology capacity:
    • Enable state and local health departments to enhance, design, and develop systems for rapid detection of unusual outbreaks that may be the result of bioterrorism.
  • Laboratory capacity-biological agents
    • Ensure that core diagnostic capabilities for bioterrorism agents are available at all state and major city/county public health laboratories.
  • Laboratory capacity-chemical agents
    • Ensure that core diagnostic capabilities for chemical agents are available at all state and major city / county public health laboratories.
  • Health Alert Network / Communications and Information Technology
    • Enable state and local public health agencies to establish and maintain a network that will:
      • Support exchange of key information and training by linking public health and private partners
      • Provide rapid dissemination of public health advisories to news media and the public
      • Ensure secure electronic data exchanges
      • Ensure protection of data, information, and systems, with adequate backup, organizational capacity, and surge capacity
  • Risk Communication and Health Information Dissemination
    • Ensure that state and local public health organizations develop an effective risk-communication capacity that provides for timely information dissemination to the public during a bioterrorist attack.
  • Education and Training: Ensure that state and local health departments have the capacity to:
    • Access the training needs for key public health and clinical care providers in their jurisdictions
    • Ensure that education and training are provided to key target audiences


Emergency Preparedness

western central public health initiative logo.pngThe Sherman County Health Department is a member of the West Central Public Health Initative.  This is a regional partnership promoting professional response to Public Health Events.