In a new article for Domestic Preparedness, Rachel Schulman, senior program analyst at NACCHO, details a collaboration between NACCHO and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Affairs to determine how local health departments could best contribute to large-scale chemical event response. After a research review, NACCHO conducted a multidisciplinary focus group of 33 local, state, federal, and nonprofit agency representatives.
The focus group, which took place in the National Capital Region, found that the role of local health departments in a chemical response is not well defined. In order to facilitate conversations on this topic, NACCHO’s research highlighted the many roles that local health departments can play in a chemical incident.