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Planning ahead is absolutely necessary to be prepared for emergencies, be they terrorist attacks or naturally occurring public health concerns. To meet the need for increased planning and preparation, the City of St. Joseph Health Department has acquired federal funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Bioterrorism Grant. This division ensures Public Health Preparedness and establishes the capacity to respond effectively to bioterrorism, other outbreaks of infectious disease and public health threats and emergencies. These efforts focus on:

1. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING
   • Assess existing plans, procedures, staff, equipment and resources.
   • Establish a process for strategic leadership, direction, coordination and assessment of activities to ensure local readiness, interagency collaboration, and preparedness.
   • Develop and exercise a comprehensive public health emergency preparedness and response plan.
2. SURVEILLANCE AND EPIDEMIOLOGY CAPACITY
   • Develop the capacity to rapidly detect a terrorist event through a highly functioning disease surveillance system.
   • Develop the capacity to rapidly and effectively investigate and respond to a potential terrorist event, based on a plan that addresses surge capacity, delivery of mass prophylaxis and immunizations, and pre-event development of specific epidemiological investigation and response needs.
3. LABORATORY CAPACITY
   Coordination with the implementation of a statewide program to provide rapid and effective laboratory services in support of the response to bioterrorism, other infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health threats and emergencies.
4. COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
   • Develop effective electronic communications connectivity among public health departments, healthcare organizations, law enforcement organizations, public officials and health care providers, including a method of emergency communications for participants in public health emergency response that is fully redundant with e-mail.
   • Develop the capacity for secure electronic exchange of clinical, laboratory, environmental and other public health information in standard formats between the computer systems of public health partners (laboratories, health care facilities, health care providers).
5. RISK COMMUNICATION
   Develop capacity to provide needed health/risk information to the public during a terrorism event by
   • Establishing critical baseline information about the current communication needs and barriers within the community, And
   • Identify, develop and pretest communication concepts, messages and strategies for bioterrorism, other infectious disease outbreaks and other public health threats and emergencies.
6. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
   Arrange for provision of education and training to key public health professionals, infectious disease specialists, emergency department personnel, and other healthcare providers in preparedness for and response to bioterrorsim, other infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health threats and emergencies.

For information on Missouri’s Bioterrorism Preparedness, visit:
Emergency Response and Terrorism
Missouri Homeland Security
Missouri State Emergency Management Agency

To view U.S. information about bioterrorism threats, visit:
CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response
US Department of Homeland Security