The Unified Health Command: Strengthening Public Health Interventions in Yellowstone County

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The Unified Health Command Strengthening Public
Health Interventions in Yellowstone County

• Doug Moore, MD, MPH
• Yellowstone City-County Health Department
• October 18, 2005

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Yellowstone County, Montana
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Objectives

• Identify key components of a successful
  health-based preparedness committee
• Describe how a local service based health
  department transitioned into a public health
  focused organization

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YCCHD Timeline

• Up to 1999
• 9/00
• 02
• 9/02
• 11/02
• 3/03
• 6/03
• 7/03
• 03 04

Health officer, medical director, communicable
disease PHN, and environmental health PHPS
assignee chronic care BT grant PHPS assignee
BT preparedness/CHAP Public health and safety
mill levy BT focused PHS staff, PHN Risk
communications manager Received mill levy PHS
staffing
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Timeline

• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005

September 11th Anthrax attacks Small
pox Flu/vaccine shortage NPS audit West Nile
Virus E. coli O157 and Campylobacter Cyclospora F
lu vaccine Pertussis West Nile Virus Flu vaccine
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Mission

• To unify the health professions community in
  Yellowstone County for the purpose of preventing
  disease, preparing for events that may affect
  the health of our community, and responding to
  such events as an organized body.

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Objectives

• Prepare our community for all events that may
  have a health impact
• Write, review, and update disaster preparedness
  plans
• Respond to outbreaks as a coordinated response
  team
• Develop singular messages for conveying
  health-related information to the community
• Coordinate mass treatment or mass prophylaxis
  clinics during emergencies
• Develop coordinated prevention campaigns
• Lead health related recovery efforts after an
  emergency

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Unified Health Command

• Unified response to communicable disease
  outbreaks and public health issues
• Disaster medical health plan
• Mass immunization plan
• Training, tabletop, and live exercises
• Cover Your Cough campaign
• Respiratory illness plan
• 4 Ds campaign

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Currently my community has an identified public
health/ medical infrastructure for addressing
disasters. True or False?
Question

• A. True
• B. False

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Positive Impacts

• Response
• Planning
• Communication
• Internal
• External healthcare community and the community
  at large
• National Public Health Performance Standards
  Assessment

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Impact of the Assessment

• Health department strategic plan based on the 10
  essential services
• Future plans
• Community assessment
• Community health plan
• Community health profile
• Another community assessment

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In my community which one of the following has
been the biggest challenge in using preparedness
resources?
Question

1. Long-term viability
2. Mismatch of priorities
3. BT v. full use focus
4. Other

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Challenges

• Long-term viability
• Mismatch of priorities federal, state, and
  local
• BT v. full use focus