Emergency Preparedness

The mission of the Burke County Health Emergency Preparedness is to provide organized and quick responses during disasters and emergencies. Burke County Health Department emergencies can include natural events (flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.) and planned acts (bioterrorism). Burke County Health Department prepares for emergencies and disasters and works to prepare and protect the community as a whole through planning, training, drills, and more. Linked with county, regional, state, and national resources, we receive up-to-date information on any biological or communicable disease occurrence that could affect your health. When the need arises for critical health information, you can depend on Burke County Health Department to be prepared to respond. 

How Burke County Health Department prepares for and responds to emergencies and disasters.

Burke County Health Department has an important role in preparedness and response. Burke County Health Department Preparedness Coordinator uses an all-hazards approach for emergency planning, focusing on situations that specifically affect the health of the public including pandemic flu, mosquito-borne diseases, bioterrorism events, and other disease outbreaks. The goal of the Burke County Health Preparedness Coordinator is to ensure readiness among staff as we prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies through coordinated training, planning, and exercises. The Burke County Health Department Preparedness Coordinator is constantly updates the Medical Countermeasure Plan. The MCM refers to the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) large quantity of medications and PPE that can be used during a public health emergency such as a flu outbreak when local resources are exhausted." During certain Public Health emergencies, a Point of Dispensing (POD) site may be used to distribute medications to residents.      

In the event of an emergency, the Burke County Health Department has emergency procedures to help protect the community. These procedures include sharing information with the public on ways residents can protect themselves, and agreements with specific local agencies to set up medication clinics, as necessary. Finally, the Burke County Health Department participates as a member of the emergency response community to work and collaboratively on any public health emergency.