Public Health

I.	PURPOSE
	The purpose of this annex is to provide for the public health and provisions for medical services for the population of Washington County during an emergency / disaster.
II.	SITUATION AND ASSUMPTIONS
	A.	Situation
		1.	The Washington County Health Department is located on NC Hwy. 45 North, Plymouth, NC.
		2.	A large portion of the population outside the city limits is dependent upon private wells and private septic systems. These systems are susceptible to flooding problems when flooding occurs.
		3.	The Health Department, in conjunction with Social Services, will maintain a current list of persons with special needs.
	B.	Assumptions
		1.	A large‑scale emergency / disaster will result in increased demands on Public Health and medical personnel.
		2.	Emergency operations for Public Health personnel will primarily be an extension of normal agency duties.
		3.	Following an emergency / disaster, the Health Department will take action to prevent the spread of communicable disease resulting from contaminated water supplies, malfunctioning septic systems, increased numbers of vectors, spoiled or contaminated food supplies and lack of functional sanitary facilities.
		4.	A catastrophic disaster could result in multiple fatalities necessitating extraordinary measures.
		5.	When local resources can no longer meet the demand of the situation, additional resource requirements will be requested through the Emergency Management Coordinator, who will in turn contact the State Division of Emergency Management’s Emergency Operations Center.
III.	CONCEPT OF OPERATION
	A.	The primary concern of public health is disease control. The County Health Department will implement effective environmental health, nursing and health education practices to minimize the incidence of disease.
	B.	The Health Department will coordinate health care in approved shelters.
	C.	Frequent inspections of damaged areas and emergency shelters will be necessary to determine the need for pest control, sanitation, or other protective measures.
	D.	The Health Director will establish temporary morgues and coordinate with the Medical Examiner in the identification and proper recovery of human remains.
	E.	The Health Director will oversee the expeditious testing of emergency water supplies to ensure potability.
	F.	The Health Director must coordinate with the Public Information Officer concerning distribution of information to the general public on disaster related health matters.
	G.	The Health Department will coordinate the movement of special needs populations, for example, the homebound patients normally attended by the Home Health nurses.