Town of
Emergency Preparedness Update on CDC
Goals
Prevention
Presently, the Town of
1) The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
2) Emergency Dispensing Site Plan (EDS)
3) Infectious Disease Monitoring Plan
4) Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
The Town is presently working on their Risk Communication Plan and conducting site surveys to expand their EDS sites from 1 to 3 to accommodate a fluctuating population during the summer season. The Town is also developing mobile units to provide services for special populations and people who shelter in place during an emergency. Additionally, the Town is working on updating their animal sheltering plan which proposes to place an animal shelter in the Town owned recreation department building.
The Town has also created a Citizens Emergency Preparedness Working Group which consists of representation from a cross section of the community. Members include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, Episcopal Church, Gosnold Mental Health, Helping Our Women, Kitchen Angels, Methodist Church, Outer Cape Health Services, Provincetown Business Guild, Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, Provincetown Medical Group, Provincetown Police and Fire, Provincetown Schools, Red Cross, Red Cross Cantina, Soup Kitchen, Town Health and Human Services, Unitarian Universalist, Visiting Nurses Association of Cape Cod.
The Town is currently working with the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps to recruit and train volunteers. The Town has sponsored volunteer trainings throughout 2006 and will continue to coordinate future trainings through the assistance of the MRC. Department heads, police and fire personnel as well as first responders have taken NIMS 700 and ICS 200 or higher. The goals and objectives for 2007 will include elevated efforts and planning for community outreach and education as well as recruitment and training of volunteers.
Incident Command System: The Town has developed its ICS organizational chart through the creation of the COOP and EDS plans.
Memorandums of Understanding: The Town is in development of MOU’s to be voted on at the April 2007 Town Meeting. These MOU’s will allow for services to be shared and rendered between neighboring municipalities, private organizations, and medical providers regionally. The Town is also drafting an MOU to be executed for purposes of utilizing the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps for trainings, volunteer recruitment and staff support during an emergency deployment.
Proposed MOU’s with:
- Outer
- Provincetown Medical Group
- Gosnold (Mental and Behavioral Health Services)
- Town
of
- Town
of
- US Coast Guard
- Businesses i.e supply stores, food stores
- Pharmacies
- Transportation facilities
Current MOU’s:
- National Park Service
Detect and Report
The Town is on the Health Alert Network (HAN) and has established a 24/7 emergency call down list to report public health emergencies. The police station dispatcher is also a first line responder who will call public health officials on their 24/7 emergency numbers.
Investigation
The Town’s EDS site has been tested and is able to be up and
running within 24 hours. In June 2006,
the Town responded to the threat of a possible measles outbreak due to a
confirmed case of the disease in an individual who had come to
Communications
Distribution of emergency messages to key public health
response partners is presently done through internet, cell phone, and
radio. It is orchestrated through the
Police Department and/or the Health Department (as the situation
dictates). The emergency response team
consists of the Police Department, Fire Department, Health Department,
Department Human Services and the Counsel on Aging, Visiting Nurses
Association,
Emergency Public
Information and Warning
The Town has a PIO for each type of emergency situation. If the incident is an issue of public safety then the Town Manager, Police Chief or his/her successor is the PIO. If the incident is an issue of public health then the Health Inspector/Agent is the PIO. The Emergency Preparedness Director is the Police Chief and the Emergency Preparedness Manager is the Health Inspector. The Chief of Police is the incident commander and the Town Manager is the Chief Public Safety Officer. The incident command center is situated in the Fire/Police Station.
Special populations planning: The Town’s Director of Human Services and the
Council on Aging is in charge of special populations
planning. Plans are under development to
address the needs of individuals with special needs i.e. medical, mental,
behavioral the elderly and families with young children. The Town is working with non-profit
Responder Safety and
Health
Worker crisis counseling, mental health, substance abuse, and behavioral health services will be provided through collaboration with the following local counseling services:
1)
2) Gosnold Thorne Counseling
3) Psychiatric Collaborative
4) AIDS
Support Group of
5) State and County Behavioral Health Services
Isolation and
Quarantine
Presently, Isolation and Quarantine areas are housed within the Town’s current Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS). Specific rooms have been designated as isolation units and places for quarantine from the general population. Additionally, if complete isolation and seclusion is necessary tents and/or trailer trucks would be brought in by State MEMA officials as the situation dictates.
Mass Prophylaxis
The
Town has one certified EDS site at the
Medical Surge
The Town is currently working on development of an MOU with the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps which will be deployed for use during an emergency situation and to aid in volunteer recruitment and training. Presently, the Town has 22 trained volunteers who have attended a Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps training and received their credentials. Recruitment and training is ongoing with the end goal of securing 200 certified MRC volunteers.
Improvement
Drills are difficult to orchestrate. The Town’s main economy is tourism which has a primary season between May and September. There are concerns that conducting a drill would impact visitors experience. A better time to conduct a Town wide drill would be between October and February when tourism populations are less.