Problem
The Tennessee Governor 's Task Force on Disaster Preparedness for Pandemics has
been created and tasked with thinking ahead to the next pandemic threat to the great state of
Tennessee. This task force must analyze Tennessee’s past reaction to pandemic threats,
specifically focusing on the 2009 Novel H1N1 Influenza A (H1N1) breakout. This analysis must
include what Tennessee had right and wrong in its approach in 2009, a benchmark comparison
with other states on their methods, processes, or best practices, and insure that the state is in
compliance with the U.S. National Strategy for Pandemics.
The Task Force must then make recommendations to the Governor on how to prepare
for and manage the next pandemic threat to
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In the United States, state and federal health authorities moved
rapidly to respond to the growing threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
played a leading role, developing and issuing guidance on a range of issues.
As in most states, Tennessee’s public health community feared that the new disease
would soon appear within its borders. By the end of April 2009, cases of H1N1 had surfaced in
the state. With this new and potentially virulent strain of influenza spreading rapidly, State
Health Commissioner Susan Cooper and her leadership team determined it essential that the
state, its regions, and the independent “metros” operate in a coordinated manner (Giles &
Howitt, 2011). Health officials knew that to implement an effective response, they would have to
closely coordinate with several other state agencies – especially with the Tennessee
Emergency Management Team (TEMA), which plays a leading role in emergencies.
TEMA has opened its own state-wide EOC at the same time that the Department of
Health had stood up to its State Health Operations Center (SHOC), anticipating that the state
might confront a full-blown, devastating crisis (Giles & Howitt, 2011). Cooper believed that
TEMA’s early reaction made sense, and if the pandemic worsened, TEMA could assume
greater responsibilities,
In 1983, a disease known as CNSB-1 was spotted in South America. By 1985 the disease has traveled to north america by airplane. When 1990 came around, every major city has been affected. Quarantine zones were established in the poorest parts or town. The disease was cured in 1995 but it still claimed the lives of 49,920,000 people in america. Progress had slowed down to a crawl and the economy was left in shambles after the U.S government put all of it’s resources in destroying CNSB-1 before it destroyed their nation. 1998 comes along and the quarantine zones are still around, only now filled with a new type or sickness.Terrorist gangs inhabit them and live by randomly raiding surrounding communities. For those who live in such areas, the only
Because of the uncertainties and evolving nature of infectious diseases, outbreaks can cause substantial fear in communities and in the general public. Such is the case with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. It was the first serious infectious disease of the twenty first century and questions about its origin and treatment greatly outnumbered the answers.
State and federal agencies are involved in this matter and taking it very seriously. They believe this is a critical health care emergency. Dr. Jasen Kunz of the National Center for Environmental Health and Dr. Claressa Lucas of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases will be leading a team of one hundred and fifty state officials to
Propose any new/novel solutions that might be effective in control and prevention of disease. Include variables and demographics that make efforts to reduce transmission in this geographic area more difficult and how you might work to resolve them.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, coordinate efforts in conjunction with states and other partnersto offer a system of health surveillance, which would monitor and prevent disease outbreaks, which includes bioterrorism. The goal of the agency is to implement strategies to prevent diseases as well as maintain national health statistics. Another role of the CDC is to safeguard against international disease transmission, this is vital as the agency has personnel located several countries outside the United States. Looking at the agency’s core functions, examining influences in the workplace, and identifying roles of the agency personnel is vital to
I would like to propose that the World Health Organization takes a more active role in this area and create a more sophisticated quick response branch that embeds personnel in an effective manner. This will take much logistical planning and preparedness, perhaps the successes could be used analogously in this country to strengthen FEMA’s responses.
The ability to contribute to designing prevention and control strategies to prevent endemic or epidemic transmission in the United States was intriguing. As a NACCHO Policy Scholar with the Infectious Disease department, I was thrilled to work on two exciting public health projects; the Flu Near You and HIV/AIDS Policy Initiative Project. Both projects are in line with my areas of interest as a Public health practitioner and included a review of evidenced based literature to understand effective strategies and interventions that could be adopted in these projects.
Infectious epidemics and pandemics have happened all through mankind's history. “They remain the prime cause of death worldwide and will not be conquered during our lifetimes.” The flu of 1918 was one of the deadliest epidemics in history. “It infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic.” No one knew how the virus spread, there were no antibiotics to fight it, and no flu shots to prevent it. In the final year of World War I, it struck terror in the hearts of people all across Europe and left more death in its wake than the combined military actions of the combatants. “It killed more Americans in a few months than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the
Communication is essential between health care facilities and the CDC. For example, the facilities experience an emergency and follow certain quarantine protocols and alert the local public health department and the CDC. The CDC organizes secure transmission tactics to merge and notify public health officials at local, state, and federal levels. The institute deploys scientific and logistical proficiency, personnel, and vital medical resources to the area of the emergency. The CDC (2012) explains the implementation of the essential medical assets for protection of communities in the state of an emergency:
In a response to the polio outbreak of 1916, Dr. Haven Emerson, the Health Commissioner for New York City, stated: “we have learned little that is new about the disease, but much that is old about ourselves.” The meaning of this has to do with the ideology that no matter the era, people have a common response to the outbreak of contagious disease. Human nature supplies us as humans with a common reaction to dealing with disease, and it is one that can be seen during the Black Death, polio epidemics, and ebola epidemics, as well as many other epidemics. These responses can be both positive and negative, and often have to do with containment of the disease, preventative measures - which may or may not be effective; and scapegoating. Although there may be individualized responses for each of these diseases, the way in which the health-care officers and the public handle the outbreak of disease generally follows the same pattern overall.
Since 1878, the US Public Health System has been collecting information on infectious conditions for the purpose of early identification and control of massive outbreaks, including, when necessary, instituting quarantines
It is our obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Getting involved it preventative measures looks beyond our back yard to the effects this virus has on those around us and even to other
This paper defines and explains the six core functions of epidemiology: Public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluations, linkages, and policy development. The core functions of epidemiology lay down a foundation on which epidemiologists can begin to work from. This paper will look at the benefits of incorporating all six of these functions into a working plan when health officials, medical personnel, first responders, etc., encounter a disease or illness that needs to be identified, treated and contained.
The state government of Michigan operates with a view of meeting various goals and objectives. Nevertheless, it public health preparedness program is not the best in the country. As such, there are gaps in its public health preparedness program compared to other states. For instance, the state government needs to improve on the jurisdiction
Protecting the public’s health historically has been a state and local responsibility. However, the growing threat of bioterrorism has highlighted the importance of a strong public health infrastructure to the nation’s homeland security and has focused increased attention on the preparedness of the public health system (Frist, 2011). Since the 2001 anthrax attacks Congress has passed new legislation to increase the strength of the nation’s public health system thus the funding has also rapidly increased to meet the potential demand. There is an ongoing debate however, as to what level of contribution local, state, and federal agency’s feel is an appropriate level of ongoing public health investments.