What is Emergency Preparedness and Response?
Emergency Preparedness and Response helps people plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies.1 These public health emergencies could be a disease outbreak, a weather emergency, an act of terrorism, or a chemical spill.2 Schuyler County Public Health works to ensure community organizations and the public are prepared in case of an emergency. We plan, train for, and respond to potential emergencies that could strike the County and the surrounding area. Schuyler County Public Health collaborates with the Western Region Health Care Emergency Preparedness Coalition, Finger Lakes Public Health Alliance – Emergency Planners, Watkins Glen International, local Emergency Management and emergency responders, Schuyler Hospital, local businesses, and law enforcement. We also rely on the support of community volunteers in the Medical Reserve Corps who help provide manpower in case of an emergency.
What do we do to address this?
- Plans and Response: Schuyler County Public Health prepares and plans for all types of emergencies that could impact the health and safety of Schuyler County residents. This includes preparing for potential terrorist attacks (like anthrax), pandemics (like COVID-19), and natural disasters (like floods and winter storms). All employees of Schuyler County Public Health receive training so they can assist in any potential response. They also learn the principles of emergency response including the Incident Command Structure and how to properly put on and take off personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of an illness spreading to themselves or others.
- Preparedness Drills: Schuyler County Public Health completes drills to test how prepared we are to respond to emergencies. Based on how the drills play out, we adjust and improve our plans, training, and response. We complete drills to test our response to situations like Ebola, COVID-19, Hepatitis A outbreaks, winter storms, and flooding.
- Medical Reserve Corps (MRC): The Medical Reserve Corps is a national network of medical and non-medical volunteers that work “to improve the health and safety of their communities.”3 MRC volunteers provide Schuyler County Public Health with manpower and technical skills during emergency and non-emergency events. They provide nursing and clerical support to Schuyler County Public Health during drills, and in the case of actual emergencies. MRC volunteers also help with community health screenings, rabies clinics, and other activities to protect the health and safety of the community.
- Learn more about Schuyler County MRC and how to join by clicking here.