1. Partnerships for Pandemic & Bioterrorism Incidents
Ryan Moeller
Emergency Preparedness & Response Coordinator
Williamson County and Cities Health District
Amy Thompson
Public Health Preparedness Planner
Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Dept

2. CDC Funds Public Health for Bioterrorism, Emerging Infectious Diseases and other Public Health Emergencies
Develop BT/Pandemic Response Plans
Conduct Exercises
Upgrade Disease Surveillance and Investigation
Enhance Public Health Laboratory Capability
Develop Risk Communication Capacity

3. The Role of Public Health
Early detection through epidemiology surveillance/ rapid assessment of reports
Implement disease specific plans (e.g. Smallpox)
Rapid confirmation of agent, site, initial at-risk population, prophylaxis and/or treatment
Alert medical community, ERs, labs
Determine resource needs and possible quarantine
Coordinate with partner agencies (local/state/national)

4. The Role of Public Health
Closely monitor communication network for new information
Provide, accurate, timely information to public
Continue epidemiologic investigation to refine at risk population
Assess environmental contamination
Provide or coordinate testing/ prophylaxis/ treatment to at-risk population
Access biological stockpiles as necessary

5. Health Dept Partnership with ISD’s
Texas Vaccine for Children’s Program
Annual School Nurse Conference
Exercises
Central Texas School Safety Consortium
H1N1 Response

6. Texas Vaccine for Children Program
Provides vaccine for underinsured and uninsured children
ISD’s provide schools for vaccine clinics
ISD nurses conduct the vaccination clinics

7. Annual School Nurse Conference
Sponsored by Williamson County & Cities HD
CEU’s for Nursing Staff

8. Exercises 6 ISD’s participated Simultaneous vaccination operations
4000 doses of influenza vaccine

9. Central Texas School Safety Consortium
School Safety Mangers
School Nurses
Police Dept
Fire Dept
Public Health

10. H1N1 Response Utilized staffing agency
Conducted vaccination ops in schools
Already had vaccination experience
Vaccinated priority pop

11. Partnerships to Build On
Surveillance and Epidemiological Response ~
to identify and contain disease outbreaks, and trends
Community Preparedness Planning ~
to identify and serve populations requiring preparedness support

12. Surveillance and Epi-Response
Public Health~
tracks diagnoses and indicators
identifies trends and anomalies
responds to outbreaks with epidemiological investigations
ISDs~
Provide information on reportable diseases (TB, pertussis etc.)
Report surges in school nurse case load (Food Born Illness, FBI)
Report on absenteeism rates, surges

13. Recent Examples
H1N1~ ISDs reported Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and daily absenteeism rates to PH/ EOC
FBI at school ~ Outbreak involving dozens of individuals at a statewide conference; likely agent identified through epi-investigation; attendees and school facility advised accordingly
Pertussis ~ Confirmed case at an ISD; LHA provided official advisory/ guidance for parents

14. H1N1 School Absenteeism Rates

15. Epi-Curve of FBI

16. Health Authority Advisory

17. Mutually Beneficial Outcomes (Surveillance)
Public Health~
More community data = greater capacity to identify emerging disease
Increased disease reporting = improved efficiency of response efforts (epi and prophylaxis)
ISDs~
Improved PH analysis/ capacity = safer and healthier students and staff
Improved efficiency of PH response = decrease in incident

18. Public Health Community Preparedness Planning
Ensure base-line immunity through vaccination programs
Develop educational materials and opportunities to prepare community for health events
Deliver targeted outreach to at- risk communities
ISDs/ TEA ~
Promote student awareness/ preparedness
Provide insight on local demographics and community support needs
Provide de-identified data to fill in census gaps

19. Examples Alternate Language Outreach Materials ~
to inform linguistically isolated communities
Public Health Information of Network (PHIN) ~
to improve awareness of public health concerns
Teen Citizen Emergency Response Teams (CERT) ~
to promote preparedness skills in the student body
Vulnerable Populations/ Functional Needs Studies ~
to identify and support the needs of the whole community

20. Identifying Outreach Targets (Vulnerable Populations and Functional Needs)

21. Mutually Beneficial Outcomes (Community Preparedness)
Better prepared and more engaged student body
Healthier student body/ community
Decreased rate of incidents

22. Suggested Goals for Continued LHD/ISD Collaboration
Continue to build on mass clinic planning
Ensure that SROs and RNs are connected to LHDs (e.g. PHIN participation)
Standardize procedures for routine sharing of statistics and de-identified data (on absenteeism, functional needs of student population, etc.)
Develop and deliver preparedness outreach materials designed to meet the unique needs of the community
Collaborate with emergency management on internship and teen CERT opportunities