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Agency completes pandemic response plan
By Lyn Walters
Staff Writer 6/07/06
Last month, Plumas County Public Health Director Dr. Hank Foley presented his agency's newly completed Pandemic Influenza Emergency Response Plan to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors.
With the prospect of a severe worldwide flu outbreak frequently reported in the national news, county health officials have developed a specific plan for local residents.
Foley explained to the board that the plan was a dynamic one that would "continue to evolve, be reviewed and exercised annually."
In the case of a flu emergency, Foley will assume the role of incident commander and will be available around the clock to activate the response plan.
Once the response plan is enacted, Foley will be in charge of the overall coordination between the public health divisions and other local emergency management agencies, such as law enforcement, fire and the California Highway Patrol.
The new response plan delineates a process to be adopted immediately after the plan is activated to assure effective collaboration between health officials, county hospitals, private medical clinics, schools, senior centers and state officials.
The plan describes how the health department's surveillance of schools, medical clinics and hospitals will work to assess the intensity and severity of flu seasons, to forecast when a second wave of flu might hit, and to determine when the season is over.
The plan has already identified citizens considered to be at high risk. In the case of a severe shortage of vaccine or other important flu treatments, healthcare providers, essential county workers, and adults and children with chronic diseases or compromised immune systems (estimated to be about 300) would top the plan's priority list.
Others considered to be at-risk are people over 50, particularly the elderly, and households with infants and toddlers up to 23 months of age.
Under the best case scenario, the plan calls for 17,373 doses of flu vaccine or anti-viral medication to be available for all essential workers and at-risk individuals.
For more on this story, along with other local stories and features, please see this week's printed newspaper. To subscribe, use the form on this Web site or call 530-283-0800.
By Lyn Walters
Staff Writer 6/07/06
Last month, Plumas County Public Health Director Dr. Hank Foley presented his agency's newly completed Pandemic Influenza Emergency Response Plan to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors.
With the prospect of a severe worldwide flu outbreak frequently reported in the national news, county health officials have developed a specific plan for local residents.
Foley explained to the board that the plan was a dynamic one that would "continue to evolve, be reviewed and exercised annually."
In the case of a flu emergency, Foley will assume the role of incident commander and will be available around the clock to activate the response plan.
Once the response plan is enacted, Foley will be in charge of the overall coordination between the public health divisions and other local emergency management agencies, such as law enforcement, fire and the California Highway Patrol.
The new response plan delineates a process to be adopted immediately after the plan is activated to assure effective collaboration between health officials, county hospitals, private medical clinics, schools, senior centers and state officials.
The plan describes how the health department's surveillance of schools, medical clinics and hospitals will work to assess the intensity and severity of flu seasons, to forecast when a second wave of flu might hit, and to determine when the season is over.
The plan has already identified citizens considered to be at high risk. In the case of a severe shortage of vaccine or other important flu treatments, healthcare providers, essential county workers, and adults and children with chronic diseases or compromised immune systems (estimated to be about 300) would top the plan's priority list.
Others considered to be at-risk are people over 50, particularly the elderly, and households with infants and toddlers up to 23 months of age.
Under the best case scenario, the plan calls for 17,373 doses of flu vaccine or anti-viral medication to be available for all essential workers and at-risk individuals.
For more on this story, along with other local stories and features, please see this week's printed newspaper. To subscribe, use the form on this Web site or call 530-283-0800.