Agenda - 12-01-2003-9b - Laserfiche WebLink

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the federal government. Experience of the last nine months has demonstrated that the scope of work that is required to successfully finish individual Health Department plans required in the emergency planning process and to develop a volunteer reserve corps will require personnel that can develop and maintain effective, on-going relationships with organizations in the County. Current Funding Sources and Deliverables Two sources of funds are available to build the capacity of the health department to develop public health preparedness and response plans. 1. Public Health Preparedness Recurring Funds In late September 2003, the department received notification that the state is allocating federal funds on a formula basis to all health departments in the state using the same allocation formula that presently applies to emergency management allocations of federal funds. These federal funds are anticipated to continue on a yearly basis. These recurring funds total $69,199 for Orange County and must be spent in the following categories: public health preparedness and response, smallpox response, strategic national stockpile, and risk communication. Examples of specific deliverables to the North Carolina Divisicn of Public Health include (see Attachment 2 for the full listing): • Establish a process for strategic leadership, direction coordination and assessment of activities to ensure Iccal readiness, interagency collaboration and preparedness for bioterrorism, other outbreaks of infectious disease and other public health threats and emergencies • Conduct integrated assessments of public health system capacities • Exercise comprehensive public health emergency preparedness and response plans at least annually • Effectively manage elements of the CDC Strategic National Stockpile at the local level should it be deployed 2. Medical Reserve Corps Three Year Grant The Health Department also sought a grant in December of 2002 from the US Department of Health and Human Services to develop a volunteer medical reserve corps to utilize volunteers to augment medical personnel in the event of a major communicable disease, natural disaster or bioterrorist event. That grant was not successful. However, the department reapplied in June of 2003 and received notification on October 20 that the application was successfi~l. The department will receive $50,000 each year for athree-year period beginning September 30, 2003. The narrative from the grant application is provided as Attachment 3. Grant deliverables include: • Initial development of the Medical Reserve Corps, including specified numbers of volunteers (50 nurses, 18 pharmacists, 25 other health professionals) in year one • Development of specific job descriptions, volunteer policies and procedures, a specific deployment plan, volunteer evaluation plan, and a training plan • Conduct of volunteer training • Collaboration with community and county agencies such as Red Cross, UNC, Department of Social Services, and Emergency Management for assignment of medical volunteers in emergency situations • Participation in tabletop and training drills