and local disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation operations. The plan details capabilities, authorities and responsibilities. It establishes mutual understanding among federal, state, local and other public and private non-profit organizations. The NCEOP is designed for worst case scenarios – to include catastrophic events.” In addition, it describes a system of how to effectively use both Federal, State, and local government resources as well as private resources and is intended in all instances to be consistent with the National incident Management System. The NCEOP is reviewed annually, with the most recent updates made in September 2020 and posted in December 2020. If, after the annual plan review, more than 25% of the content requires a change, a revision occurs to the plan. The most recent revision of the NCEOP was in August 2017, with only updates (<25% of the content changed) occurring at least annually since then.
Again, per the NCEOP 2020 Plan Summary, “Chapter 166A of the North Carolina General Statutes establishes the authority and responsibilities of the Governor. The Governor delegates authority to the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety who will serve as the State Coordinating Officer (SCO) and will be responsible for direction and control of state operations. The Secretary of the Department of Public Safety delegates authority to the NCEM [NC Emergency Management] Director who is granted the responsibility and authority to respond to emergencies and disasters.”
The Operations Section of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is responsible for coordinating and directing state government and emergency management field activities in response to emergencies and recovery from disasters. There are four branches that fall under the Deputy Operations Chief which are Communications, Emergency Services, Human Services, and Infrastructure. While the needs of the MCH population are considered under each of these branches, they are particularly supported by the Emergency Services Branch as they manage the delivery of health and human related services in times of disaster for all citizens, but especially the most vulnerable including children, elderly, disabled, and low-income families. The SERT is comprised of subject matter experts from state agencies, including NCDPH, private industry, voluntary, and faith-based organizations.
DPH activities, coordinated under the leadership of NCDHHS and supported by Public Health Law, Chapter 130A of the NC General Statutes, include assessment of public health needs, human health surveillance, food and drug device safety, public health information, vector control, biological hazards, and victim identification and mortuary services, among others. There is a Public Health Preparedness and Response Steering Committee that meets quarterly as part of the Communicable Disease and Biohazard Response Operations, and the University of North Carolina houses a Center for Public Health Preparedness which delivers training, conducts research, and provides technical assistance to public health professionals statewide. If there is an infectious disease outbreak, the Public Health Command Center will be activated. The NC Public Health Information Network (NCPIHN) is used to monitor and provide alerts for cases and outbreaks of human illness and integrates routine disease surveillance, syndromic surveillance through the NC Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool (NCDETECT) and the Health Alert Network (HAN). NC DPH also leads the Public Health Heat Emergency Response Work Group.
WCHS is frequently involved in response activities, whether it be in response to hurricanes that frequently impact North Carolina or the COVID-19 pandemic. WCHS staff work closely with others on activities such as making sure that vaccine is appropriately stored and distributed where needed under adverse conditions, that metabolic formula reaches those families in need, shelters are staffed by public health nurses, or ensuring that the nutritional needs of infants, children and families are met while maximizing flexibility under federal waivers. While the WCHS is not an official member of the SERT (the Chronic Disease and Injury Section, Epidemiology Section, and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner represent the Division along with the Division Director), the Title V Director and other staff are called upon as needed depending on the type of emergency response that is warranted. WCHS support for LHD is ongoing, and is enhanced during times of emergencies.
Within 30 days of employment, all WCHS employees are required to complete two online Incident Command System Trainings offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Management Institute. The courses, ICS-100: Intro to Incident Command System (ICS) and ICS-700: Intro to National Incident Management System (NIMS), provide overviews of the principles and basic structures of ICS and NIMS and explain the relationship between them.
In addition, WCHS employees are required to familiarize themselves with the DPH Emergency Action Plan during orientation as well as receive a copy of the site-specific Emergency Evacuation Plan for their work location which they review with their supervisor.
Within the WCHS, the NC Office of Disability and Health has a strong partnership with SERT and NCEM. They work together to improve preparedness efforts for children and adults with disabilities through involvement in statewide workgroups including C-MIST (Communication, Maintaining health, Independence, Support and Safety, and Transportation) Advisory Committee, Shelter Accessibility Workgroup, and Functional Assessment Support Team (FAST) Workgroup. They scheduled the May 2020 Disaster Preparedness for Children and Youth with Special Needs: Creating Inclusive Strategies Summit which had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but virtual webinar presentations were provided instead.
NCDHHS is working to build upon our strengths and the lessons learned from the pandemic to craft an even stronger, more integrated Department and is establishing an Office of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery to bring together teams from across the Department to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and health emergencies affecting North Carolina. This new office will strengthen and streamline our coordination and partnership with the Division of Emergency Management at the Department of Public Safety. Our ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response will be led by this office.
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