 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Jonathan Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health, Health Officer, County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services-Public Health, 313 North Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-240-8117, jfielding@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Recent events have added a new dimension to the responsibilities of local public health departments. Los Angeles County (LAC) is the nation's largest municipality, with a population of about 10,000,000. It is also a gateway to Asia and has the largest Latino population of any municipality. It is also rich in icons of American culture that could be targets for terrorists.
Starting in 1999, the LAC Health Department has been involved in planning for possible terrorist attacks, starting with bioterrorism and expanding to all risks related to weapons of mass destruction. Additional challenges, such as West Nile, smallpox vaccination, a resurgence in syphilis, and SARS, have taxed resources and caused rethinking of priorities and job responsibilities. Increased need to identify and use resources to combat chronic diseases further taxes personnel and dollar resources.
Lessons learned from the new combination of challenges are explored and the short and long term implications of these and our responses to them, alone and in combination with other agencies and organizations are presented. Funding issues, including reductions in county and state support and increases in funds from Federal grants for bioterrorism and emergency preparedness are discussed. Finally, approaches to coordination between LAC, 86 cities within LAC for which the county has public health responsibility, and other cooperating agencies (police, fire, intelligence, mental health) involved in public safety are elaborated.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Bioterrorism, Core Functions
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employed by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services