Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001 and the anthrax incident in south Florida the Florida Department of Health (FL DOH) created the Office of Public Health Preparedness.  This office is responsible for the coordination of resources, planning, and activities related to Florida’s healthcare and emergency response system.

The FL DOH and local county health departments receive grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Assistance Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for public health preparedness and response activities aimed at strengthening our abilities to respond to an emergency.  In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the grant, there have been several Federal and State legislation passed since 2002, which authorize or direct the preparedness activities of specific government agencies.  A list of this legislation is attached (Attachment 3.1).

The Sarasota County Health and Human Services (SCHHS) Office of Safety and Preparedness (formerly Emergency Operations Program) began in 2002 and is funded in part with the CDC preparedness grant.   The responsibilities of OSP include:

• Disaster plan development and maintenance
• Coordination of response activities (training, exercises, activation)
• Dissemination of public health preparedness information to staff and community partners
• Ensure National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliance

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Because a disaster can occur at any time, we must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively 24/7, 365 days a year. It is important to remember that all disasters are local. This means that all local resources must be exhausted before requesting aid from the State or Federal governments.

In Florida all State agencies and volunteer organizations, that comprise the State Emergency Response Team, are grouped into 17 Emergency Support Functions (ESF) to carry out coordination and completion of assigned missions. These functions represent specific response activities that are common to all disasters. Each Emergency Support Function is comprised of one or more Primary agency (ies) serving as the lead and several other agencies and organizations providing support. A complete list of ESFs is attached for your reference (Attachment 3.2).

Both the State and County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plans contain annexes for all 17 ESFs. In Sarasota, an 18th ESF was added for Business and Industry. When the local Emergency Operations Center is activated, SCHHS assumes the lead role for ESFs 8 and 15; and assumes a support role for ESF 14. Descriptions of these are below:

• ESF8 – Health, Medical, and Human Services: Provide health, medical care and human service needs
• ESF 14 – Public Information: Disseminate disaster related information to the public through media outlets
• ESF 15 – Volunteers and Donations: Coordinate utilization and distribution of donated goods and services.

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FEDERAL:

Homeland Security Act of 2002 – established the Department of Homeland Security in order to:

1. prevent terrorist attacks within the United States;
2. reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; and
3. minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States."

Bioterrorism Act of 2002  - To improve the ability of the United States to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies (includes Strategic National Stockpile).

Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 - The Act established within the Department of Health and Human Services a new Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR); provided new authorities for a number of programs, including the advanced development and acquisitions of medical countermeasures; and called for the establishment of a quadrennial National Heath Security Strategy.  The purpose of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act is “to improve the Nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies, whether deliberate, accidental, or natural.”

HSPD – 5: Management of Domestic Incidents. Enhances the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents by establishing a single, comprehensive national incident management system (NIMS).

HSPD – 8: National Preparedness. Identifies steps for improved coordination in response to incidents. This directive describes the way Federal departments and agencies will prepare for such a response, including prevention activities during the early stages of a terrorism incident. This directive is a companion to HSPD-5.  Directed Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a national domestic all-hazards preparedness goal.  Result:  National Preparedness Guidelines publication.

HSPD – 21: Public Health and Medical Preparedness. Establishes a national strategy that will enable a level of public health and medical preparedness sufficient to address a range of possible disasters.  Result:  Catastrophic health event planning.

National Priorities and 37 Target Capabilities - provides guidance on the specific capabilities and levels of capability that Federal, State, local, tribal, and non-governmental entities should develop and maintain in order to ensure readiness for all-hazards.

STATE:

Title XXIX, Chapter 381 – Public Health

381.001  Legislative intent; public health system.

381.0011  Duties and powers of the Department of Health.

381.0012  Enforcement authority.

381.0031  Report of diseases of public health significance to department.

381.00315  Public health advisories; public health emergencies.

381.0205  Emergency medical services.

381.0303  Special needs shelters.

Title XVII, Chapter 252 – Emergency Management

Title XLVII, Chapter 943 – Department of Law Enforcement

943.0312  Regional domestic security task forces.

Executive Order Number 2000-292 – workplace safety

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ICS was developed in the 1970s following a series of catastrophic fires in California's urban interface. Property damage ran into the millions, and many people died or were injured. The personnel assigned to determine the causes of these outcomes studied the case histories and discovered that response problems could rarely be attributed to lack of resources or failure of tactics. Surprisingly, studies found that response problems were far more likely to result from inadequate management than from any other single reason.

The Incident Command System:

• Is a standardized management tool for meeting the demands of small or large emergency or non-emergency situations.
• Represents "best practices" and has become the standard for emergency management across the country.
• May be used for planned events, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism.
• Is a key feature of the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Key Features:

• Common Terminology: Using common terminology helps to define organizational functions, incident facilities, resource descriptions, and position titles.
• Chain of Command: Chain of command refers to the orderly line of authority within the ranks of the incident management organization.
• Modular Organization: The Incident Command organizational structure develops in a modular fashion that is based on the size and complexity of the incident, as well as the specifics of the hazard environment created by the incident.
• Manageable Span of Control: Span of control is key to effective and efficient incident management. Within ICS, the span of control of any individual with incident management supervisory responsibility should range from three to seven subordinates.
• Integrated Communications: Incident communications are facilitated through the development and use of a common communications plan and interoperable communications processes and architectures.
• Information and Intelligence Management: The incident management organization must establish a process for gathering, analyzing, sharing, and managing incident-related information and intelligence.
• Accountability: Effective accountability at all jurisdictional levels and within individual functional areas during incident operations is essential. To that end, the following principles must be adhered to: