Public Health Practices

An Arizona partnership between public health and independent living advocates embarked on a project to better integrate people with functional needs into general population shelters during an emergency. The state health department purchased durable and adaptive equipment to support up to 1,000 people in shelters, and is currently training healthcare organizations to anticipate and meet the needs of people with functional disabilities during a disaster.

Health department preparedness for chemical emergencies often requires the involvement of multiple state agencies to assure that all aspects of environmental and human health are addressed in response. Given the scientific complexity of responding to a chemical emergency, effective risk communication to responders and to the public is a growing area of concern.

Tennessee worked with pharmacies to ensure that people displaced by flooding had necessary medications.

Following the first wave of H1N1, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) formed six planning groups to prepare for a second wave of the pandemic in fall 2009. These planning groups addressed essential target capabilities: surveillance and laboratory, clinical guidance, medical surge, continuity of operations, risk communication, and countermeasure administration.

Decision-making templates and staffing plans for an H1N1 hotline allowed nurses to screen and prescribe antivirals to ill students.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health's (DHH OPH) longstanding good relationship with the Louisiana State Police was critically important during the 2009 H1N1 response. For example, State Police transported large volumes of influenza samples from regional locations across the state to the DHH OPH State Laboratory.

The Nevada State Health Division's collaborative relationship with area American Indian tribes and the addition of a tribal liaison position led to a successful H1N1 response in this population. As the H1N1 virus started to affect local populations, the Nevada State Health Division took an aggressive approach to working with the state's health authorities and tribes.