1. Public Health Integration Into Public Safety in Post-Katrina New Orleans
- Author
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Jeffrey M. Elder, Dev D. Jani, and Stephen A. Murphy
- Subjects
education.field_of_study ,AJPH Hurricane Katrina 15 Years after ,Databases, Factual ,Emergency management ,Cyclonic Storms ,business.industry ,Population ,Public sector ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Homeland security ,Civil Defense ,New Orleans ,Disaster Planning ,Public relations ,Preparedness ,Health care ,Humans ,Emergency operations center ,Public Health ,business ,education ,Health department - Abstract
In addition to lacking an integrated systems approach, numerous improvement areas were documented by public sector officials and other stakeholders (see the box on page 1491) in state and federal after-action reports, including, but not limited to, comprehensive evacuation planning, emergency operations center coordination and situational awareness to include public health and medical response, leadership training on plans and incident management systems, and tactical communications interoperability 2 The inadequate evacuation planning before Hurricane Katrina necessitated a new strategy: the city-assisted evacuation (CAE) framework Being continuously updated, the CAE framework accounts for current and future changes in population density, urban mobility, access and functional needs, pet and animal evacuation, and specific resource requirements, including mental health services [ ]a successful CAE framework requires an intimate understanding of the area's population and how best to align and mobilize resources to collective and individual needs [ ]advances in health care delivery, life-sustaining technologies, and a generally aging population (often with serious chronic conditions) results in increased resource requirements to identify, evacuate, and provide for individuals with access and functional needs 3 The New Orleans Access and Functional Needs database, initially created in a partnership between the city's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, emergency medical services, and the health department, addresses these aspects and remains a cornerstone of the CAE framework Designated regional coordinators coordinate and share sector-specific situational awareness, resource requirements, and operational strategies with emergency operations centers Since Katrina, designated regional coordinators and hospitals maintain radio interoperability- the ability to communicate on a single system-with emergency operation centers and all ofpublic safety on Louisiana's network, which is the largest state interoperable radio system in the United States 4 The influences of the integrated designated regional coordinators are amplified by the federal Hospital Preparedness Program's health care coalitions
- Published
- 2020