All-Hazards Public Health Emergency Response Guide

State, local, and tribal public health departments play an extremely important role in all-hazards emergency preparedness and response. Public health professionals within these departments should have immediate access to guidance and information that will assist them in rapidly establishing priorities and undertaking necessary actions during the response to an emergency or disaster. The Environmental Public Health Readiness Branch (EPHRB) of the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services has developed a response guide to address this need.

The Public Health Emergency Response Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Directors is an all-hazards reference tool for health professionals who are responsible for initiating the public health response during the first 24 hours (i.e., the acute phase) of an emergency or disaster. It provides useful information on activating the public health system of a jurisdiction and integrating it into the existing overall emergency response structure during the acute phase of an incident. It also contains guidance that may be unique to specific types of incidents, such as floods, earthquakes, and acts of terrorism.

The guide is not a substitute for emergency preparedness activities and is not intended to replace existing emergency operations plans, procedures, or guidelines within a jurisdiction’s health department. It is consistent with the doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes of the National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

A pocket-sized field version of the guide is available to state, local, and tribal public health departments. The guide also will be presented and distributed each month at the Eouisville Metro Community-Based Emergency Response Program in Louisville, Kentucky (http://health.loukymetro.org).

For more information on the Public Health Emergency Response Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Directors, please contact Martin A. Kalis at (770) 488-4568 or pherg@cdc.gov, or Gary Rhyne at (770) 488-7104 or pherg@cdc.gov.

Copyright National Environmental Health Association Mar 2005