Public Health Emergency Preparedness

What Preparedness Means

Public Health Emergency Preparedness involves coordinating, planning, and communicating with partner agencies, organizations, and the community to understand potential threats and have effective responses to public health emergencies.

Freeborn County Public Health Department is continually preparing to respond to public health emergencies, including:

• Communicable disease outbreak
• Health related effects from natural or man made disasters
• Illness related to food or water

Public Health Departments Preparing

The threat of bioterrorism, along with the recognition that many common occurrences like food borne illnesses, power outages, floods and other natural disasters have public health impacts, has driven the need for local public health departments across the state, along with the Minnesota Department of Health, to prepare responses to a wide variety of events. Freeborn County Public Health will share accurate and up-to-date information and resources before, during and after a public health emergency.

What Freeborn County is Doing

Freeborn County Public Health has developed public health emergency response plans. These plans are reviewed and exercised on a regular basis.  This includes:

• Planning for mass clinics to dispense medications or vaccinations in case of a local or regional communicable disease outbreak
• Planning to assist the Minnesota Department of Health in areas such as disease surveillance, follow-up and monitoring

Staff is available for presentations to community groups to discuss emergency preparedness and planning and share how county businesses, agencies, organizations, families and individuals can be involved in planning and response.

Emergency Preparedness Committee

A county-wide Emergency Preparedness committee meets 2 - 4 times per year to discuss preparedness related issues.