Public Health Preparedness

Local health departments lead efforts to prepare communities for public health emergencies and disasters, support rapid responses, and drive recovery efforts to keep communities safe and resilient. Through these activities, local health departments also play a key role in achieving national health security.

NACCHO supports local health departments (LHDs) as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies by leading a wide range of projects that span both policy and practice. NACCHO’s preparedness portfolio works to align with federal partner initiatives including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Capabilities, as well as the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR’s) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and the National Health Security Strategy (NHSS). Projects within NACCHO’s preparedness portfolio focus on:

• Developing local health department core public health and emergency preparedness competencies through Project Public Health Ready
• Enhancing local preparedness to respond to CBRNE events
• Building and sustaining resilient communities
• Enhancing the use of medical countermeasures and non-pharmaceutical interventions
• Ensuring situational awareness to support decision-making
• Enhancing public health, healthcare, and emergency management systems
• Building resilient, healthy, and prepared communities through the Medical Reserve Corps

NACCHO’s preparedness activities are designed to help LHDs build sustainable capacity for emergency response, foster both private and public partnerships, and develop activities, tools, and resources, which include:

Communications

NACCHO communicates with stakeholders, including local public health, national policymakers, and the public, through a variety of methods. The Preparedness Brief Blog shares the latest news, articles, and upcoming opportunities in local public health preparedness. Sign up for the Preparedness Brief Digest monthly newsletter for updates directly to your inbox.

Policy

NACCHO serves as a conduit through which local input can reach and affect change on national initiatives. This includes maintaining preparedness workgroups and developing policy statements to inform national policy and guidance. To learn more about all of NACCHO’s workgroups, visit the Advisory Group Page.

Response Operations

When necessary, NACCHO activates an incident command and works with partner organizations to support local health departments and federal partners maintain situational awareness and respond to emerging threats.

For questions or to learn more about NACCHO’s preparedness portfolio, please email [email protected].