Emergency Preparedness Planning at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health

1
Emergency Preparedness Planning at the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health

• With a Focus on Populations with Special Needs
• Jeff Timperi
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Center for Emergency Preparedness

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MDPH Center for Emergency Preparedness

• Provides a single point of contact for emergency
  preparedness at MDPH and coordinates response
  efforts across MDPH related to
• Bioterrorism
• Chemical Radiological Emergencies
• Hospital Preparedness
• Laboratory Support
• Behavioral Health Special Populations
• Risk Communication
• Drills Exercises
• Working with Local Boards of Health
• Working with the Massachusetts Emergency
  Management Agency (MEMA)

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Special Populations

• There are many definitions of special
  populations, and
• MDPHs Special Populations advisory group has
• developed the following definition, meant not to
  exclude groups,
• but to easier facilitate discussion. Special
  populations can be
• formed into two major groups
• Demographics Group Demographically diverse
  individuals (e.g., race, ethnicity, culture,
  languages, elders, children, refugees,
  immigrants, and language proficiency etc.)
• Conditions Group Individuals with physical or
  cognitive disabilities (e.g., deaf/hard of
  hearing, visually impaired, use of a wheelchair,
  mental health/substance abuse conditions, etc.)

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Current Proposed Emergency Preparedness and
Special Population Initiatives

• Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)
• Crisis Counselor Training
• Training for Local Officials to Enhance Emergency
  Management Services for Populations with Special
  Needs
• Proposed Statewide Task Force on Emergency
  Management for Populations with Special Needs
• Emergency Shelter Development

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Continuity of Operations Planning

• Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) is being
  done across state government to assure essential
  government services are not interrupted in the
  event of an emergency, such as an influenza
  pandemic.  A COOP identifies essential services,
  agency leads, delegations of authority, and other
  key pieces of information critical to the
  maintenance of services during an extended
  emergency. Exercises are being planned in
  conjunction with Harvard School of Public Health
  and the Executive Office of Public Safety
  (http//www.mass.gov/?pageIDeohhs2subtopicL6L0
  HomeL1ProviderL2GuidelinesandResourcesL3G
  uidelinesforServices26PlanningL4EmergencyP
  reparednessandPlanningL5ContinuityofOperatio
  nsPlan(COOP)sidEeohhs2)

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Crisis Counselor Training

• Behavioral Health Disaster Responders, or crisis
  counselors, provide a short-term intervention
  with individuals and/or groups experiencing
  psychological reactions to a major emergency
  and/or disaster and its aftermath.
• This type of intervention is not therapy in the
  traditional sense responders (or counselors)
  link victims to disaster relief associations
  within the shortest amount of time while
  assessing victims for their need for counseling
  services
• There will be numerous training courses held
  throughout the Commonwealth. Please check this
  site for information on future trainings
  http//www.cmmh-cmtp.org/services-bhdrtp-trainingd
  ates.php
• A memorandum detailing how state disaster
  behavioral health services can be accessed is
  available here http//www.mass.gov/dph/topics/bio
  terrorism/statedbhservices_memo_3_06.pdf

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Training for local officials to enhance emergency
management services for populations with special
needs

• Training for local officials to enhance emergency
  management
• services for populations with special needs is
  being developed.
• A comprehensive report is expected to be
  disseminated in
• December 2006 followed by a training module by
  March 2007.
• This builds upon the following
• Special Populations Guide for Local Boards of
  Health http//www.mass.gov/dph/bioterrorism/advis
  orygrps/pdfs/spop_guidance_5_05.pdf
• Emergency Planning and Special Populations
  Community
• Planning Guide http//www.mass.gov/dph/bioterrori
  sm/advisorygrps/pdfs/spop_community_plan.pdf

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Statewide Task Force

• MDPH, the MA Emergency Management Agency, and
  the Executive Office of Elder Affairs have
  proposed to convene a statewide task force on
  emergency management for populations with special
  needs. The task force would concentrate on the
  following five focus areas
• Strategies for identifying special populations
  during a disaster at the local and state levels
  via a registry
• Promotion of personal and special population
  facility (e.g., nursing homes) preparedness
• Evacuations
• Sheltering and Influenza Specialty Care Units
  (ISCU)
• Communications
• In addition to these five areas, a sixth area
  (defining "special populations" and agreeing on
  acceptable terminology) would be an issue for the
  entire task force. It is proposed the task force
  will convene by March 2007.

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Emergency Shelter Development

• MDPH, MEMA, and the American Red Cross are
  currently meeting on statewide emergency shelter
  issues. From these meetings, a shelter definition
  and concept of operations document will be
  developed. This document will be used for larger
  ESF6 (MassCare) discussions.

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Individual Preparedness

• Develop a Family or Individual Disaster Plan (one
  sample is available via MassSupport
  www.mass.gov/samh 866.237.8274 TTY 617.536.5872
• Consider registering with the 9-1-1 Disability
  Indicator Program
• Participate in your communitys emergency
  preparedness process
• Contact your local health department or local
  emergency management director
• Become a disaster volunteer
• Medical Reserve Corps (http//www.mamedicalreserve
  corps.org/)
• Connect Serve (http//www.volunteersolutions.org
  /mass-service/volunteer/register/)
• Massachusetts System for Advance Registration
  (http//www.volunteersolutions.org/mass-service/vo
  lunteer/register/)

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Contact

• Jeff Timperi, MPA
• Behavioral Health and Special Populations
  Liaison
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Center for Emergency Preparedness
• 250 Washington St., 2nd floor
• Boston, MA 02108
• Tel [phone]
• Jeffrey.Timperi_at_state.ma.us