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The Advanced Practice Center at the Cambridge Public Health Department is engaged in the following planning activities.
During a major public health emergency, it is essential that people who are at risk for illness have access to life-saving medicines and vaccines. Emergency dispensing sites are temporary clinics set up in schools, churches, and other community locations to provide medication and vaccines to a large number of people in a short amount of time.
In 2005, the Advanced Practice Center produced an “Emergency Dispensing Site Action Plan” for use by municipal health officials and other public health workers in the 27 Massachusetts communities that comprise Emergency Preparedness Region 4b. This action plan serves as the regional standard for opening, operating, and closing emergency dispensing sites.
The emergency dispensing plan has been incorporated into the comprehensive emergency management plans of all Region 4b communities. The Advanced Practice Center conducts ongoing regional trainings and facilitates exercises for public health staff on implementing the plan.
A major public health threat—such as a chemical spill or disease outbreak—could quickly overwhelm the resources of a single community. Recognizing this fact, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has encouraged cities and towns to enter into public health mutual aid agreements with neighboring municipalities.
A public health mutual aid agreement is a legal document that addresses issues of liability, authority, and finances which often arise when one community's public health department requests help from another.
In December 2005, the Advanced Practice Center released a model public health mutual aid agreement for Massachusetts communities. The agreement was drafted by attorneys from the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association and the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, and emergency preparedness professionals from the Cambridge Advanced Practice Center and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Center for Emergency Preparedness).
In 2006, the model public health mutual aid agreement was submitted to the 27 Region 4b communities for approval. As of May 2006,18 cities and towns in Region 4b had approved the agreement.
Effective, timely, accurate, and coordinated information must be communicated to the public from the onset of an emergency throughout the response. This information should be disseminated broadly, and in multiple languages. The Advanced Practice Center is training public information officers how to develop risk communication messages prior to a crisis and how to communicate effectively with the public during a crisis.
The Advanced Practice Center supports the work of Region 4b in developing plans and pre-event education for people who are non-English speakers, physically or mentally disabled, homebound, or elderly.
Some emergencies require a prolonged response. As part of that response, public health and other personnel may be asked to assume different roles to ensure delivery of essential services. Through trainings and exercises, the Advanced Practice Center assists local officials in identifying service areas that require cross training of personnel.
Effective emergency response requires everyone’s participation, including families, businesses, and schools. National polls suggest that only 10% of Americans have engaged in emergency planning at home. The Advanced Practice Center is developing programs and initiatives that support family and household planning. This work includes presentations at health fairs and community forums. A public service announcement, produced in spring 2006, will be aired on local cable television.
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Overview
