Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080711/NEWS/807110317/-1/COMMUNITIES
Shoals prepares for pandemic
By Michelle Rupe Eubanks
Staff Writer
Last Updated:July 10. 2008 10:14PM
Published: July 11. 2008 3:30AM
What to do in the event of an influenza pandemic has been on the agendas of the local health departments since Gov. Bob Riley mandated plans be put into place in 2005.
Since then, committees have been formed and local emergency personnel have spent time preparing for an event they say could occur.
A new report from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., however, indicates issues such as panic, staffing and geographic boundaries are some of the challenges public health experts need to address in the planning stages for a possible pandemic.
"Counties that border other states may experience nonresidents seeking treatment in their area, while other counties may be home to the only isolated hospital system in the region and can expect the population from other states to travel there for care," said George Avery, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology as well as a member of the Purdue Alternative Care Site Planning Team.
"Health care, especially in a crisis, is not defined by county or state lines," he said.
The Shoals is situated in the northwest corner of the state, with rural areas of Mississippi and Tennessee a 30-minute drive away.
Dr. Karen Landers, who oversees the local pandemic flu committee, said the state has worked out a reciprocal agreement with the bordering states to work through problems that may arise in the event of a crisis.
"Through our emergency preparedness center at the state level, each area has an emergency preparedness coordinator, and that allows each to have input to the state on problems that we see and what we think might need to be addressed," she said.
Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina served as dry runs on how to be prepared for a disaster of the magnitude that may arise during a pandemic, Landers said. She is the area health officer for six counties: Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion and Winston.
Influenza hospitalizes around 200,000 Americans each year and kills 36,000. In 2005, global concern was raised about a possible influenza pandemic because the number of human deaths related to bird flu was increasing in some Asian countries. There is some concern that, if the virus were transmitted from human to human, a global outbreak could result in millions of deaths.
Even as recently as the flu season that ended in March, physicians found the flu vaccine contained the incorrect form of the virus to fight the bug, landing many who took it in a doctor's office or the hospital for treatment.
Shoals prepares for pandemic
By Michelle Rupe Eubanks
Staff Writer
Last Updated:July 10. 2008 10:14PM
Published: July 11. 2008 3:30AM
What to do in the event of an influenza pandemic has been on the agendas of the local health departments since Gov. Bob Riley mandated plans be put into place in 2005.
Since then, committees have been formed and local emergency personnel have spent time preparing for an event they say could occur.
A new report from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., however, indicates issues such as panic, staffing and geographic boundaries are some of the challenges public health experts need to address in the planning stages for a possible pandemic.
"Counties that border other states may experience nonresidents seeking treatment in their area, while other counties may be home to the only isolated hospital system in the region and can expect the population from other states to travel there for care," said George Avery, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology as well as a member of the Purdue Alternative Care Site Planning Team.
"Health care, especially in a crisis, is not defined by county or state lines," he said.
The Shoals is situated in the northwest corner of the state, with rural areas of Mississippi and Tennessee a 30-minute drive away.
Dr. Karen Landers, who oversees the local pandemic flu committee, said the state has worked out a reciprocal agreement with the bordering states to work through problems that may arise in the event of a crisis.
"Through our emergency preparedness center at the state level, each area has an emergency preparedness coordinator, and that allows each to have input to the state on problems that we see and what we think might need to be addressed," she said.
Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina served as dry runs on how to be prepared for a disaster of the magnitude that may arise during a pandemic, Landers said. She is the area health officer for six counties: Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion and Winston.
Influenza hospitalizes around 200,000 Americans each year and kills 36,000. In 2005, global concern was raised about a possible influenza pandemic because the number of human deaths related to bird flu was increasing in some Asian countries. There is some concern that, if the virus were transmitted from human to human, a global outbreak could result in millions of deaths.
Even as recently as the flu season that ended in March, physicians found the flu vaccine contained the incorrect form of the virus to fight the bug, landing many who took it in a doctor's office or the hospital for treatment.