I blog on this subject with many different feelings….. mainly I hope that I am wrong. But, being involved with Public Health and Emergency Management allows me a unique view into both disciplines dynamics. What troubles me is the direct undertaking of the current H1N1 threat by Public Health from the perspective of being in charge and completing their planning in a silo. What compounds this worry is that Emergency Management in most cases seems content with being a bystander and not getting involved. My fear evolves around this becoming a “perfect storm” scenario if things really take a turn for the worse this Fall and Winter in regards to H1N1. In North Carolina, we have a vey tried and true state emergency operations plan that reflects the emergency management folks remaining in charge of any disaster event, but sharing command with the appropriate lead technical agency for the event (Public Health – pandemic, Dept of Agriculture – foreign animal disease, Radiation Protection – fixed nuclear event…). This system has worked well to allow emergency management to manage the “typical” functions that present themselves during a disaster of any scenario….. mass care, sheltering, law enforcement, evacuation, re-entry and recovery to name a few. The lead technical agency provides specific guidance on the mitigation of the event’s cause. This ensures consistent response and recovery to any and all disaster events. Back to H1N1…..public health appears to be doing all of their own planning, and most of their planning documents represent them as being in charge of the event. The planning is not being integrated, in most cases, with existing emergency management plans and there appears to be an effort to manage the event from the local health department – through regional public health teams – to state public health with little regard of the existing emergency management system. This type of planning in the past has lead to poor communications, poor delivery of services, delays in resources and confusion in chain of command. In some instances, public health has designated schools as Points of Dispensing, emergency management has designated these same schools as shelters, and local hospitals have designated the same school for patient overflow or evacuation…… everyone is not going to fit if a scenario creates the need for all three to activate that plan! The best solution to this puzzle is to simplify the pieces. Public health should be planning under the framework of the local and state emergency management all hazards plan…. not creating a stand alone “SNS” or “pandemic” plan. I hope that this is ocurring in some counties, but the more I see, the more “perfect” the storm seems to be brewing……..
Posted by Bill Gentry 