Health Preparedness Program
The Health Preparedness Program (HPP) is housed within the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) in the Division of Health, Bureau of Health Planning and Resource Development (please see organization chart below). HPP promotes public health and healthcare preparedness planning through cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The HPP performs public health and hospital preparedness planning and contracts with the local District Health Departments (DHDs) to increase health preparedness capacity statewide. IDHW and DHDs have each written public health and regional surge response plans that document their basic response activities, such as command and control, epidemiology surveillance and response, risk communications, Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) deployment, mass dispensing and vaccination, and volunteer mobilization. Public health is an active partner in statewide response efforts and has developed many relationships with state and local agency response partners, including border states and Canadian partners.
The HPP focuses on planning, training, and education. HPP is actively involved in preparing public health and healthcare systems to respond to incidents of bioterrorism, outbreaks of diseases, pandemic influenza and continuity of operations planning (COOP), and other health emergencies.
HPP provides technical assistance and guidance to more effectively develop and maintain public health plans, including response and recovery to emerging health threats and other public health emergencies.
HPP also conducts healthcare preparedness training through its ASPR program. The goal of the ASPR program is to assist healthcare entities in improving their capacity to respond to a medical surge. Medical surge capacity is defined as the ability of a healthcare system to adequately care for increased numbers of patients. Regional Health Care Planning Groups (RHCPG) have been established in each of the seven district health regions in Idaho to enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies. Grant funds are available for healthcare entities who participate in the RHCPG. Efforts are directed at enabling the healthcare system to function in a more efficient, resilient, and coordinated manner during a medical surge.
The ASPR program also facilitates two web-based systems to enhance preparedness efforts statewide. The Idaho Bed Tracking program system is available to all licensed hospitals in Idaho. Hospital staff will receive notification of mass casualty events (e.g., a multiple car crash, an explosion at a local factory, or an infectious disease outbreak) via e-mail or text pager. Trained personnel then enter data on the hospital’s emergency department status, bed availability, and the types and number of patients that the facility can receive. During an event, the information is available 24/7 through the IDHW State Communications Center (StateComm) and local dispatch to assist with the movement of patients.
The ASPR program also facilitates the Volunteer Idaho program, a system for advanced registration of volunteer health professionals. The system is able to register, collect, and verify the credentials and qualifications of health professionals who want to volunteer during a health emergency. Verification of volunteer health professional credentials prior to calling them up for an event is critical to the preparedness efforts in Idaho.
HPP has several state partners (Idaho Bureau of Laboratories, Office of Epidemiology and Food Protection, Idaho EMS State Communications Center, and Immunizations Program) who work together to provide public health services and health preparedness planning throughout Idaho. HPP also contracts with the seven District Health Departments (Panhandle Health District, North Central District Health Department, Southwest District Health, Central District Health Department, South Central Public Health District, Southeastern District Health Department, and Eastern Idaho Public Health District) to provide public health preparedness at the local level.
HPP participates in regional (Alaska Health and Social Services, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Oregon Department of Human Services: Public Health Division, Washington State Department of Health, Wyoming Department of Health, and Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board) public health preparedness education through the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP).
