Public Health Practices

In response to state demographics, a Florida Department of Health (DOH) work group developed a guide for emergency responders to communicate with various vulnerable populations during a disaster. The guide covers how to create an appropriate message, deliver it in a way that will be received and understood, and collaborate with area organizations that may have special knowledge or skills to reach their communities.

A significant number of elderly people, people with disabilities, and children in group homes live near the nation’s largest nuclear power plant, the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, about 50 miles west of Phoenix. During a radiological emergency, they may need additional assistance. State health officials have used full-scale exercises and frequent contact to streamline their evacuation and decontamination response times for these vulnerable populations.

After Lawrence County in southern Illinois experienced severe flooding in 2008, planners built GIS maps using community data to develop a strategy for future emergency events.

The National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) Institute for Hispanic Health developed the Emergency Managers Tool Kit: Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities to address the specific needs of Latino communities during an emergency.

Developed by the University of Minnesota (U of M) Center for Public Health Preparedness, and now supported by the U of M Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC), the free online training, "Dirty Bomb! After the Blast," educates users on aspects of a radiological response.

Many of the events and responses involved in this practice are still undergoing investigation, so the description below pertains only to local mitigation efforts.

Virginia and West Virginia partnered to offer a videoconference training on preparedness and response for at-risk populations.