Bucks * Chester * Delaware * Montgomery * Philadelphia Community Preparedness for Health Emergencies: An Urban Approach Steven Alles, MD MS MFA Program Manager, Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Philadelphia Department of Public Health Division of Disease Control Overview The Urban Community Agency roles and relationships Working with Special Populations An urban preparedness outreach model Medical Services and coordination with Hospitals Pandemic planning activities and real events PHILADELPHIA, PA 1
PHILADELPHIA, PA Bioterrorism and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program Philadelphia Demographics (2000 Census) 1.46 million people (5.8 million in the metropolitan statistical area) 45% white, 43% African- American, 12% other races; 8.5% Hispanic Household median income=$30,746 18.2% families below poverty line Bioterrorism and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program Philadelphia Region - $ Resources 2006: Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding to expand public health preparedness capacity for 5 counties through SE PA Regional Task Force 2008: PDPH with PA DOH successful award for CDC competitive Pan Flu Grant to expand Regional Vulnerable Populations Preparedness 2
Regional Vulnerable Populations Preparedness Project Overview Health department and emergency management personnel in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia Counties Identify vulnerable u e abe populations popuato Outreach Model with Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Service Providers Develop sustainable partnerships Create tailored messages Disseminate messages Provide Training Evaluate and disseminate best practices Identify Vulnerable Populations To be prioritized by each county Populations with communications challenges Non-English speakers Persons with visual and hearing impairments Migrant farm workers (geographic or cultural isolation) Populations with special medical needs Elderly persons with chronic medical conditions End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients Persons with severe cognitive impairments Populations with access and mobility challenges Persons with severe physical impairments People with Cognitive/ Developmental Disabilities People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Outreach Model Agencies that Serve Low-Income Populations Neighborhood Agencies Religious Institutions and Faith-Based Organizations People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired Homebound Elderly People HIV/AIDS Service Agencies People who have Low English Proficiency (LEP) Physically Disabled Persons Homeless People 3
Outreach Materials Successes Replication and distribution of outreach materials for use in other counties Development of agency/health Department/Emergency t/e Management relationships Growth of Tri-county Special Needs Registry, ReadyNotifyPA, and DelCo Alert Multiple successful trainings, conferences and tabletop exercises Contact Information: Regional Vulnerable Populations Preparedness Project Chad Thomas, MPH Communications Outreach Coordinator Philadelphia Department of Public Health (215) 685-64596459 chad.thomas@phila.gov Robyn Jones-Slater, MPH Regional Community Outreach Coordinator Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) (267) 746-0685 robyn@phmc.org 4
Planning with Community Clinics In Philadelphia, collection of 40 Government funded Health Centers Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) PDPH District Health Centers National Nursing Consortium Centers 2008 engaged FQHCs in a formal pandemic influenza surge planning initiative Planning with Community Clinics June 2008 Severe pandemic tabletop exercise focusing on integration of FQHCs in the overall community response Hospital participation i Explored ways to expand clinic activities to manage surge of non- acutely ill persons Information dissemination City to clinic, clinic to community FQHC administration committed to working with city and hospitals to optimally manage healthcare needs Nursing Home Pandemic Planning PDPH planners coordinated a pandemic planning work group for nursing homes Hospital representatives participated Encouraged nursing homes to manage non-severely ill pandemic patients Explored isolation and quarantine options, visitation restriction Discussed workforce depletion issues and solutions 5
Philadelphia-based Dialysis Centers 2008 PDPH Planning team conducted an introductory meeting to discuss capacity and explore how government can support operations End Stage Renal Disease Network 4 Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Dialysis Organizations representing 33 centers Led to the formation of the Health Information card Summer 2009 Rapid creation of H1N1 Vaccine Program (staff and patients) Lessons Learned For a public health emergency: True value from planning occurs from: Establishing relationships Defining i roles and activities iti Describing the issues and proposing solutions Specific response activities Communications and information that is timely, succinct, up to date, provide a forum for real-time discussion Coordination of Medical Countermeasures H1N1 Vaccine and antiviral medications 6