Get Prepared for Public Health Emergencies
 What is a Public Health Emergency?
A public health emergency is any adverse event (natural or man-made) that compromises the health of a population and has the potential to cause widespread illness.
This could include:
- Outbreaks of illness (more cases of an illness than expected)
- Illness that can cause larger numbers of death or disability
- Infectious Illness that is hard to control
- Illness from a terrorist attack (such as from anthrax or cyanide gas)
- Illness from release of nuclear material
- Increased risk of health hazards (such as injury during a natural disaster or mass shooting event)
How Can I Prepare My Household for an Emergency?
Make a plan so your household knows what to do during different types of emergencies. Teach young children how to shelter-in-place to prevent injury during tornadoes and where to meet after an evacuation from a fire.
Build a Kit
Sometimes emergencies prevent us from accessing the resources we are used to having. An ice storm may cause power outages or a tornado may place debris in the roadways, making it unsafe to drive. Have a kit prepared so your household can survive for a few days on your own. Visit Ready.gov for a list to get you started.
Create a Family Emergency Communication Plan
You may not be together when an emergency happens. It is important to make a plan for how you will reconnect if you are separated. Make sure to document emergency contacts, emergency meeting locations, medical contacts and insurance information. Consider printing a copy in case of power outage. Visit Ready.gov for a easy template.
Prepare Financially
Americans at all income levels have challenges rebuilding after emergencies. It's a stressful time, so make sure access to personal financial, insurance, and medical records is easy. Consider starting an emergency savings account that could be used in crisis. Keep some cash on hand in case online systems for ATMs or credit cards are offline. Review insurance policies to understand what types of coverage are included (for example, flood insurance is often a separate plan for homeowners). Find more information on financial preparedness at Ready.gov
Take Preventative Steps for Health
There are some steps we can take in advance that will reduce our risk of illness during a public health emergency. Stay up-to-date on vaccines that will protect against preventable disease. Vaccines help us reduce the number of people that become ill, but especially the number of people that have severe illness that requires hospitalization. Manage chronic health conditions that could hinder your bodies ability to fight off additional illness. Practice basic healthy habits like a balanced diet, regular physical activity, quality sleep, and regular preventative medical screening.
If someone in your household requires the use of medical equipment or medication, plan ahead. Make sure your evacuation plan takes into account accessible exits and transportation options. Talk to your doctor about back-up options to keep medical equipment that requires electricity running during an outage. Discuss options for an emergency supply of a needed prescription with your pharmacist. For more health considerations, visit Ready.gov
How will I know when there is an Emergency?
Alert Iowa is the State of Iowa's official emergency notification system. Signing up is easy! Simply text DALLASIA to 672-83, download the "Smart911 Application" from the App Store, or register online.
Follow Dallas County Health Department and Dallas County Emergency Management on social media for ongoing updates.
www.Facebook.com/DallasCoHealth
www.Instagram.com/DallasCoHealth
www.Twitter.com/DallasCoHealth
www.Facebook.com/DallasCoIaEMA
How Does Dallas County Prepare for Emergencies?
The team at Dallas County Health Department trains and plans for public health emergencies so we are prepared to serve our community should they happen. Each staff member has a special role that they prepare to fill, and the team runs drills to brainstorm solutions for a wide variety of public health emergency situations.
Dallas County Health Department also partners with Dallas County Emergency Management and many partners around the community to make sure that we can prevent as much death, injury, illness, and destruction as possible. Dallas County EMA is able to offer guidance to organizations across the county as emergency plans are developed. DCHD helps to connect organizations with the tools they may need to respond in emergency situations (such as AEDs or Stop the Bleed kits)
The Monthly Health Promotion message is provided by the Dallas County Health Department for use in newsletters, social media messaging, or other communications.
Any questions can be directed to Abigail Chihak, MSW, MPH.
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