The Florida Department of Health (DOH) today announced that eleven Florida county health departments (CHD) have received national Project Public Health Ready recognition from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for meeting rigorous national standards of public health preparedness.
The news brings the total number of Florida county health departments that have received this highest preparedness honor to 27, which is the greatest number of local health departments in a given state to receive this status. Just 163 local health departments in 25 states have met national Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) standards.
“I’m very proud of the work these county health departments have done to meet national standards of preparedness,” said State Surgeon General Ana M. Viamonte Ros, M.D., M.P.H. “Florida’s capacity to respond to our residents’ and visitors’ needs during a public health-related emergency has increased substantially.”
The following counties received Project Public Health Ready recognition in 2010: Bradford, Broward, Hernando, Lake, Orange (re-recognition), Santa Rosa, Sarasota, St. Johns, Sumter, Union, and Walton. These CHD were supported in their efforts to achieving this recognition by mentors and technical reviewers who had previously acted as PPHR team leads in their own counties, a system that Florida initiated and other states are adopting across the nation.
Project Public Health Ready is a collaborative initiative between the Florida Department of Health (DOH), NACCHO and the CDC that sets state and national criteria in all-hazards preparedness planning, workforce capacity development, and demonstration of readiness through exercises or real events. DOH has participated in PPHR since its inception in 2003.
“Every county in Florida is at risk for experiencing an emergency or disaster, such as a hurricane, disease outbreak, or chemical spill. In every public health incident, the public look to their county health department for leadership in times of crisis,” added Viamonte Ros. “How to balance this responsibility with the day-to-day delivery of public health services is a county health department’s greatest challenge. Project Public Health Ready is one tool to help counties meet this challenge.”
Counties that received Project Public Health Ready recognition from 2003-2009 include: Seminole, Okeechobee, Orange, Palm Beach, Indian River, Martin, Pinellas, St. Lucie, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Escambia, Highlands, Marion, Nassau, Pasco and Polk.
Twenty-five additional CHDs are currently in the process of applying for PPHR recognition. DOH anticipates all county health departments will implement PPHR by December 2011.
The mission of the Florida Department of Health is to promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida. Visit http://www.floridashealth.com/prepare/publichealthready.html for more information about PPHR.
