A PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE

Public health professionals must be involved in numerous planning activities that are related to emergency public health responses. This aspect of environmental health is fast becoming a highly popular sector. Events related to natural disasters and responses to terror attacks over the past decade have become very real.

This assignment addresses emergency public health responses that are capable of providing meaningful help to communities when such events become evident.

Consider the following:
The city of Centervale has a population of 75,000 and continues to grow. It is located approximately forty-five miles outside of a huge metropolitan area of over two million people.
Centervale has been developing their local disaster management plan since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The city elects a mayor and city council which contracts a city manager.

City officials and planners have been following the latest protocols as provided for instate and federal guidelines for a community of its size and configuration. However, the city’s plans have mostly focused on responses to terrorism threats. Plans show incomplete responses to other public health emergencies or natural disasters. For the most part they have continued to rely on local first responder protocols that have been in place for years.
You have been invited as a Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness specialist to make a proposal to the city council, in the hopes that they will hire you to help Centervale fully develop its plans to include protocols for a full and measured response to other disasters of a public health nature, including natural disasters.

The city council is allowing you forty-five minutes for your presentation. Keep in mind the scalability factor for the size of population and location. Your presentation must include a risk-based, all-hazards, and capability-approach response. Be sure to address the following in your presentation:

• Common Mission Area
• Prevent Mission Area
• Respond Mission Area
• Protect Mission Area
• Recover Mission Area
Use the National Preparedness Guidelines (NPG) as a starting point in researching relevant information.
Complete the following:

• Develop a PowerPoint presentation that outlines your suggested path to updating Centervale’s disaster management plan.