Welcome

Public Health Preparedness

Columbia, MO

June, 2011

Road to Rio Preparedness

Partners Make All the Difference!

Partners Make All the Difference

• City of St. Louis Department of Health has partnered with:

– 4 Federally Qualified Health Centers – part of the MO Primary Care Association

– St. Louis ConnectCare – part of the safety net in St. Louis serving the uninsured and underinsured with an Urgent Care Center, an Ambulatory Surgery Clinic, and 13 specialty clinics.

Partners Make All the Difference

Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers

Family Care Health Centers

Grace Hill Health Centers

Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers

St. Louis ConnectCare

Partners Make All the Difference

Partners Make All the Difference

Why did the City of St. Louis DOH choose this model of collaboration?

• The Post 9/11 World….

• CRI Directive – dispense meds to 356,000 people in 48 hours…….

• Our DOH has 20 nurses…..

Partners Make All the Difference

Partners Make All the Difference

Why did the FQHCs choose this model?

• The Post 9/11 World….. FQHCs begin to see their funding tied to emergency preparedness

• By 2005, both the DOH & the community health centers began to engage in conversations on ways to partner

Partners Make All the Difference

How did we get started?

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

Remember the fundamentals of public health we all learned in school?

“BUY IN”

Partners Make All the Difference

Partners Make All the Difference

Reaffirming commitments to our

neighborhoods / communities

“Yes, we want to do this!”

Partners Make All the Difference

Discussions on the enormity /

complexities of the plan

“You want me to do what????”

Partners Make All the Difference

Still engaged in meetings!

MOUs, Letters of Intent, scope of practice, liability, malpractice, medical model / rapid dispensing, volunteers, standing orders,

homebound populations, non-English speakers, adverse reactions, NIMS compliance, ICS training, computerized records,

inventory management, HIPAA, security issues, labeling requirements, media messages, tactical communications….

And on and on and on

It’s a process.

Partners Make All the Difference

“Conversation builds capacity” (Pam Walker, Interim Director, St. Louis City DOH)

Not MOUs, Not Contracts, Not Grant Deliverables

– Design the plans around what partners can bring to the table

– Don’t get discouraged with the details of the plans – they can be worked out!

What do we bring to the table?

FQHCs and ConnectCare bring:

• Medical surge capacity • Triage• Disease surveillance• Mental health services• Medical response staging • Deploy mobile units and CCHC staff• Ethnic community outreach • Serve as Points of Distribution (POD) sites• Translation services

Missouri Primary Care Association

What do we bring to the table?

DOH brings:• Pre-event planning and coordination• Platform for collaboration• Training / Exercise opportunities• Purchasing equipment / supplies• Standardized manuals / plans• Gap analysis / Evaluation / After Action Reports• Access to volunteers

Collaborating for Preparedness

Challenges:• Emergency response plans can be

overwhelmingly complex – breaking them down into who does what, where and how – and conveying that with clarity

• “You’ve seen 1 FQHC, you’ve seen 1 FQHC” … facilities are unique and independent: flexibility required by all

• Funding

Collaborating for Preparedness

Challenges:• Staffing / turnover / keeping everyone

current and on the same page• Volunteerism / vs mandatory participation

Collaborating for Preparedness

Successes / Rewards:

• Pride in seeing our facilities / departments step up to the challenges – knowing our efforts contribute positively to our communities

• Learning from each other & not reinventing the wheel

Collaborating for Preparedness

Successes / Rewards:

Collaborating! - knowing that our

collective

efforts create a stronger whole.

Collaborating for Preparedness

How might one do this in your community?

• FQHCs – call your local DOH Emergency Planner – introduce yourself & set up a meeting!

• DOHs – call your local FQHC – introduce yourself, & set up a meeting!

Start the Conversation!

Collaborating for Preparedness

Local or Regional meetings:– Missouri Primary Care Assoc meetings– LPHA meetings

State Resources:– DOHs – call Sue Heisler / Tom Stiefermann!– FQHCs – call Janice Pirner!

Other Resources: Find examples of communities with processes that work, adapt to your plans

Pat Curtis, Emergency Response PlannerCity of St. Louis Department of Health

1520 Market Street, Room 4045

St. Louis, MO 63103

314-657-1546

curtisp@stlouiscity.com

Collaborating for Preparedness

Collaborating for Preparedness

“In preparing for an emergency:

1. Present the problem based on good science and good data.

2. Bring diverse groups of people together to address the problem by contributing according to their capability & expertise.

3. Magic will happen.”…Pamela Walker