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Since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, and in particular the anthrax attacks the following month, the role of public health as a front-line emergency responder has become increasingly evident. While public health departments have historically been prepared to mitigate naturally occurring disease outbreaks, both the occurrence and ongoing threat of bioterrorism in the U.S. have added unprecendented scope and complexity to public health response planning.
In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has used CDC emergency preparedness grant monies to create a new division focusing specifically on emergency planning-the Office of Public Health Preparedness-and to enhance surveillance, epidemiological, and laboratory capacity at the state level. The Department also hired eight new regional epidemiologists who serve the respective counties in eight emergency planning districts in Michigan, as well as eight regional strategic national stockpile coordinators. In addition, MDCH has provided grant funding to local health jurisdictions to hire emergency preparedness coordinators to coordinate emergency response planning at the local level. While the impetus for public health emergency preparedness planning were intentional events, public health preparedness activities ultimately are applicable to a broad spectrum of health-threats—including naturally-occurring disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and other unusual events-and provides an organized, systematic blueprint for protecting the health of our community. For more on Public Health Emergency Preparedness Planning and Response in Delta or Menominee Counties, please contact Mark Weber, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at 906-789-8100, or mweber@phdm.org
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Recognizing the critical nature of
public health response, as well as the continued vulnerability of
communities to acts of terrorism and bioterrorism, the federal
government has sought to bolster public health emergency response
capacity-both within the U.S. as a whole, and within individual states.
Substantial new federal monies have been allocated to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to enhance national
surveillance and response capacity, with a significant portion of these
monies earmarked for grants to the states.
