Welcome to Greene County Medical Center

Basic Plan

ASSUMPTIONS: Any Type of Bio-Emergency
1.In the event of a bio-emergency, local officials, the healthcare community, and the general public will look to the local and state public health agencies to coordinate the response.

2.There will be widespread circulation of conflicting information, misinformation, and rumors.  Communication must be coordinated among all relevant agencies to ensure consistent messages to all entities involved in the response as well as to the general public.

3.Even during a relatively routine event, such as a case of hepatitis A in a food-handler or one case of measles on a college campus, the local public health agency will normally be responsible for surveillance and epidemiologic response, and for coordinating the distribution and/or administration of vaccine, immune globulin, and other bio-emergency-related pharmaceuticals within its jurisdiction.

ASSUMPTIONS: Influenza Pandemic
1.There may be very little warning.  Most experts believe that we will have between one and six months between the time that a novel influenza strain is identified outside of the U.S. and the time that outbreaks begin to occur in the U.S.

2.Outbreaks may occur simultaneously throughout much of the U.S., preventing shifts in human and material resources that normally occur with other natural localized or regional disasters.

3.The effect of influenza on individual communities will be relatively prolonged -- weeks to months.

4.The impact of the next pandemic could have a devastating effect on the health and well being of the American public.

5.Effective preventive and therapeutic measures -- including vaccines and antiviral agents -- will likely be in short supply, as well as antibiotics to treat secondary infections.

6.Health-care workers and other first responders will likely be at even higher risk of exposure and illness than the general population, creating the potential to further impede care of victims.

7.Widespread illness in the community will increase the likelihood of sudden and potentially significant shortages of personnel in other sectors that provide critical community services, including military personnel, police, firefighters, utility workers, and transportation workers.

ASSUMPTIONS: Bioterrorism
1.Although possible, an act of bioterrorism in Iowa is unlikely.

2.The release of a biological agent will likely go unnoticed until infected people seek for medical treatment.

3.Most local public health systems will be overwhelmed by community requests for information, prophylaxis, and treatment when a bioterrorist threat or actual attack becomes public information.

4.Public health officials will need to work closely with law enforcement and other first responder organizations during a bioterrorism attack.

5.Illnesses resulting from a bioterrorist release may be very difficult to differentiate from a naturally occurring outbreak of disease, especially during the early stages.

CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS
The protection of the health and welfare of the residents of Greene County, Iowa will be managed at the local level.  IDPH, and other state agencies when appropriate, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will provide technical assistance when requested or in cases where emergency needs exceed the capability of local response resources.  In extreme circumstances, such as the incapacitation of local authorities, the state may move beyond an advisory role and assume direction and control responsibilities within the affected jurisdiction(s).

In a very large outbreak of disease, many or all Iowa communities will be affected and the state may not be able to meet all requests for assistance.  Under these circumstances the state will use available mechanisms, including the Federal Response Plan, for obtaining resources and other assistance from the federal government.

With assistance from state and, in some instances, federal agencies, local jurisdictions will be responsible for:

1.Management of epidemiologic surveillance and response activities, including contact tracing and the selection and implementation of disease control and prevention measures, such as vaccine/pharmaceutical administration for prophylactic or treatment purposes.

2.Communication of information regarding prevention and control measures and the local effects of a disease to health care providers, the media, and the general public.

3.Maintenance of health care and essential community functions during periods of high absenteeism.

ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1.The local health agency will perform the following functions:

Establish provisions for public notification, comments, etc.;

Develop and maintain this plan in collaboration with other local agencies;

Identify resources (personnel, supplies, reference materials) to carry out an emergency vaccination or medication dispensing/administration clinic;

Obtain information from neighboring jurisdictions, as needed to develop and maintain this plan;

Coordinate bio-emergency exercises as needed;

Conduct, or otherwise arrange to provide, bio-emergency-related training as needed.

2.Departments and agencies with responsibilities under this plan will develop and maintain procedures for implementing this plan.

3.The State of Iowa will provide assistance to the local jurisdiction as provided for in state statute and the Iowa Emergency Response Plan.

PLAN REVIEW AND MAINTENANCE
This plan will be reviewed and updated as necessary, such as after an exercise or an actual outbreak, but not less than annually. The local public health agency director will provide each proposed update to the local Board of Health to review and approve prior to including it in the plan.

Those items that should be reviewed include, but are not limited to:

1.Community and facility notification and alerting lists, including 24/7 contact information for appropriate personnel.

2.Inventories and/or identified sources of critical equipment, supplies, and other resources.

3.Facility and community-specific functions and procedures.
The following policies apply to the review and maintenance of this plan.

1.It is the responsibility of the local public health agency director to coordinate the review and maintenance of this plan. The public officials, departments, agencies, community members, facilities, and others who have a role in bio-emergency response under the plan will provide support.

2.The plan must have been completed or reviewed within the past year.

3.Departments, agencies and facilities that maintain annexes and/or procedures that are a part of this plan should review the portions of the plan pertaining to their function on an annual basis.

4.The local public health agency director is responsible for maintaining a list of plan holders and ensuring that plan changes are disseminated in a timely manner.

US Patent Numbers 7,720,998 B2, 7,836,207