Public Health Emergency Preparedness

Public Health Emergency Preparedness Division

The purpose of the PHEP Division is to develop, exercise, and enhance emergency response to protect Salem County residents from public health emergencies (natural, biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear), in partnership with the state, county and other community-based organizations.

What is Salem County Department of Health doing to prepare for a public health emergency?

Risk Communication and Medical Countermeasures
Salem County is one of 24 LINCS agencies (Local Information Network & Communication Systems) in New Jersey. Throughout the state of New Jersey there are 24 LINCS agencies. All LINCS agencies are continuously developing their Community Health Alert and Information Network (CHAIN) which connects public health departments with hospitals, laboratories, emergency responders, medical providers, schools, and other community organizations for electronic information sharing and response to public health incidents. Messages that are received from CDC or NJDOH are sent down to local health departments and then communicated to organizations who are a part of the LINCS program. These messages can include updates on disease prevalence in our state, food recalls, or program updates. As a LINCS agency we are responsible for the distribution of life saving antibiotics and other medication in response to a disease outbreak, biological or chemical attack. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires LINCS agencies to develop plans to distribute this medication within 48 hours. In Salem County we have plans to distribute medication at any of our 5 POD sites (Points of Distribution) throughout the county.

Emergency Operations Planning and Exercising
Salem County Department of Health would be responsible for leading and responding to a public health emergency in Salem County alongside of the Office of Emergency Management. Written in various operational readiness and emergency operations plans, the SCDOH, has comprehensive strategies outlining specific steps our organization and particular individuals (example: The Salem County Health Officer, the Salem County Director of health & Human Services, the Disabilities, Access, and Functional Needs Coordinator, Etc.) should take in the event of a public health crisis or disaster. Those outlines are called “Standard Operating Procedures” or SOP for short. Each plan goes through a yearly review to identify any gaps in potential risk as well as update procedures, responsibilities, communication protocols, and personnel changes. where it is applicable. The primary goal of these emergency operations plans is to ensure safety, minimize damage, and restore normal-life operations as quickly as possible. To ensure the efficacy of the emergency operation plans, the Salem County PHEP Division conducts several exercises each year. These exercises often include our emergency response partners like the Office of Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, the Salem County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Unit, law enforcement and local healthcare facilities. PHEP staff continues to maintain readiness by attending trainings like Incident Command Structure, CBRNE awareness, Radiological Emergency Response, Emergency Risk Communication, and American Red Cross Sheltering throughout the year.

Health Education
The PHEP Division has a dedicated individual that works to prepare Health Department Staff, County partners, and community members to respond to public health emergencies, educate the public about health-related topics, and to communicate preventative, timely, and protective public health information. This individual is the Salem County Health Educator and Risk Communicator (HERC) Coordinator. The HERC Coordinator is available to instruct emergency-measure certification courses, provide public health emergency presentations, and to advise local business on creating or updating their own emergency plans. Check out the “Training Courses and Presentations” tab for more information.