Montgomery County, MD - Departments and Agencies

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Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Program

Preparedness Planning and Response Assessment
Use these resources to develop unique tools, technologies, exercises, and educational materials to improve emergency preparedness and response.

Vulnerable Populations

Child Care Collaboration Tip-Sheet
This two-page tip sheet provides tips on how to enhance emergency preparedness efforts by creating and fostering a collaborative partnership with the community with a focus on long term child care for emergency care workers.

Emergency Response Planning for Child Care Providers
This training toolkit was developed in collaboration by the Montgomery County, Maryland Employee SAFE Children Planning Group, Montgomery County Early Childhood Services, Montgomery County Resource and Referral Center, and the Montgomery County APC. The toolkit is designed to plan and prepare child care providers for emergency events and to assist in the recovery effort by helping children cope with the traumatic event. A train-the-trainer guide is included. The training manual is also available in Spanish and does not include the train-the-trainer guide.

NEW! Developing a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for Child Care Providers Training Module. The training module is intended to give child care providers the tools and resources to develop a COOP plan for emergency events, specifically a pandemic influenza. It can be used by local health departments and other community service agencies to help prepare the child care community.

Plan to Be Safe Campaign and Training
This is an educational toolkit (available in PDF) that was originally targeted to the senior citizen population. However due to the friendly format, Montgomery County launched it as a county-wide campaign in September 2005. The toolkit includes a poster with a take-away brochure which emphasizes preparing a disaster kit with at least 9 items and a tri-fold brochure. The tri-fold emphasizes a three step plan, of which preparing a disaster kit is one step. Each product within the toolkit is also available in a downloadable format that will allow for individual customization (poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure). A guidance document has been created, which provides suggestions on how the materials may be customized and instructions for printing.

For training staff and others on the Plan to Be Safe Campaign a flip chart training tool has been developed. A Spanish version of the training tool is also available. For a sample hard copy please contact Montgomery APC.

Plan to Be Safe Campaign materials (poster, take-away brochure and tri-fold) are now available (PDF ONLY) in 9 different languages (including English):

Cambodian: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Chinese: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Farsi: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

French: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Korean: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Russian: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Spanish: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Vietnamese: Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure. Non-Montgomery County: Poster, take-away brochure, and tri-fold brochure.

Montgomery APC launches Plan to Be Safe Campaign through local movie theaters. Check it out! (requires Windows Media Player).

Introducing....Marta the Planner! (Windows Media Player) An Educational Video on the Plan to Be Safe Campaign. Learn how to put together your own Plan 9 kit and other essentials. The video covers all three steps of the Plan to Be Safe Campaign, Have a Conversation, Make a Plan and Make a Kit with tips for each step! If you are interested in getting a copy of the Marta the Planner video, or would like a QuickTime version, make a request or e-mail us at montgomeryapc@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Please note: Marta the Planner is in CD-ROM format and plays only in computers equipped with a CD-ROM drive. This is not a disc that plays in a DVD player.

Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities and Group Homes
Montgomery County’s APC, in collaboration with the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure & Regulatory Services, has developed an Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, and Group Homes.

Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Case Management and Home Care Services
This Emergency Preparedness Checklist is designed to ensure that clients receiving home care and case management services have a conversation, develop an emergency plan and gather a three day or more supply of nine essential items in preparation for an emergency event. The Checklist is designed to be cut and/or copies and directly inserted into a client's chart. This Checklist can be used in conjunction with Montgomery County APC's Plan to Be Safe Campaign materials.

Emergency Preparedness Training Curriculum for Latino Health Promoters

Montgomery County Advanced Pratice Center and the Latino Health Initiative used the results from the focus groups to develop a training curriculum for the promotores de salud (lay health promoters) to help increase the knowledge and change behaviors in the Latino community on emergency preparedness. A pilot of the training curriculum occurred in the winter of 2008.

Emergency Preparedness Education for the Latino Community Conducted by Health Promoters: A Mini Pilot Project

Emergency Preparedness Training Curriculum for Lay Health Promoters (Appendix A) in English and Spanish

Advanced Practice Center Spanish-Language Plan to Be Safe Materials (Appendix B)

Repuestas Sencillas a Preguntas Basicas sobre Preparacion para Emergencias (Appendix C)

Simple Answers to Basic Questions about Emergency Preparedness: Information for Promoters

NEW! Pandemic Flu Training Module

Preparation for Pandemic Flu: A Health Promoter Training Module.

Preparacion para Gripe Pandemica: Un Modulo de Capacitacion de Personas Promotoras

To read the the final report, click here.

Pan Flu & Us: Linking Home Care and Public Health: A Toolkit for Developing a Pandemic Flu Preparedness Workshop

This tool is designed to assist local health departments in developing a program for home care providers to integrate emergency preparedness into their daily activities with their clients. The toolkit provides the following guidance for local health departments to develop a similar program in their communities:

Introduction
Who is Home Care?
What are the types of Home Care and Home Health Agencies?
Who are your partners?
What topics will you cover?
What is your timeframe?
What is your budget?
What resource materials are available?
What lessons were learned?
What are the next steps?

The entire toolkit is also available PDF format including:

Particpant Packet Materials

Customizable Printed Promotional Items (Word)

If you are interested in the original Publisher files, please make a request.

Preparedness Planning and Response

Washington Council of Governments Matrix and User Guide
This NCR Matrix and User Guide helps public health agencies identify, clarify and compare the operational characteristics of dispensing cites.The ultimate goal of the matrix is to clarify and achieve consistency of protocols and procedures.

Clinic Planning Model Generator
Montgomery County APC is collaborating with the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland in the development of the Clinic Planning Model Generator.

eMedCheck---PDA Model

During a public health emergency, time, accuracy and data collection are essential in medical clinics. One way to improve these activities is through the use of technology. An electronic medical screening tool can decrease the amount of time spent on patient screening and/or registration, improve accuracy of the patient receiving the correct medication, and serve as a data collection system. eMedCheck, an ongoing project with the University of Maryland, is a medical screening tool used on a personal digital assitant (PDA) Palm T/X Handheld. Two medical screening tools have been developed, one for Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) Anthrax scenario and a second for a Hepatitis A outbreak. eMedCheck has been tested and evaluated during exercises and real-life events at local health departments. To check out the Model, click here.

Bio-Pack Toolkit
Our first responders are our first line of defense in a public health emergency and are out in the community 24/7. A program that prepositions medications with first responders is one way to ensure a ready workforce. This type of program provides first responders the protection they need to safely respond to a public health emergency in a timely manner. This toolkit showcases Montgomery County Maryland’s Bio-Pack program as an innovate program that prepositions medications with first responders prior to a public health emergency. Included is a DVD which incorporates a video (requires a media player such as Windows Media Player) used to educate first responders as well as public health staff on the Bio-Pack program. Part II of the DVD (requires a media player such as Windows Media Player) is for public health staff considering the option of prepositioning medications for traditional first responders. A guide for local public health agencies is also included in the toolkit.

Tip Sheet: Building a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Identifying and Prioritizing Critical Health Services
A significant piece for local health departments in planning and preparing for a public health emergency, such as a pandemic influenza, is developing a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). A COOP facilitates the performance of a health department's functions during an emergency or other situation which may interrupt normal services. This tip sheet guides local health departments through the second phase of COOP planning, the process of identifying critical functions and services. Montgomery County APC provides a case study of the process through the eyes of the county's Communicable Disease & Epidemiology Program. This tool is only available on-line.

Notes from the Field: A Collection of Emergency Preparedness Exercises and Evaluation Reviews

This document, compiled by the Montgomery County APC in conjunction with the National Association of County and City Health Officials Exercise and Evaluation Workgroup, is a collection of resources to assist public health emergency planners design, implement and evaluate public health exercises. Notes from the Field contains peer reviews of a variety of exercise and evaluation documents that have been prepared by a variety of agencies. Local public health practitioners are the primary audience for most, but not all, of the materials. However, all may be adapted for use by local public health departments.

Department of Health and Human Services
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