Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105710

Thomas R. Belcuore, MS, Alachua County Health Department, 224 SE 24th Street, Gainesville, FL 32641-7516, 352.334.8892, Tom_belcuore@doh.state.fl.us, Bill Little, MPH, MBA, Sarasota County Health and Human Services, P. O. Box 2658, Sarasota, FL 34230, and W. Michael Reid, PhD, MBA, Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, College of Public Health, MDC 56, Tampa, FL 33612.

Sarasota County, Florida, was not in the impact area for Hurricane Charley in August, 2004. However, the Sarasota County Health Department's (SCHD) experiences with the near miss provided many lessons. The SCHD is located next to the worst damaged counties of Charlotte and Desoto. The SCHD staff was engaged in assisting in the sister counties within hours of the storms passing and remained engaged for the next four weeks. This session will address four critical areas and the lessons that may be of benefit to any health department whether impacted or a near miss. First, we will discuss the critical three days following the storm, the tactical placement of resources in Sarasota, and the use of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to provide support to the impact counties. Second, we will discuss the challenges of sheltering persons with special needs far from their homes and support network and finding housing for those displaced by the storms. Third, we will discuss shortcomings in the planning, response and recovery efforts, and finally, we will present a concept for developing a community based disaster response and recovery plan that will more effectively link health and human services to meet critical needs.

Learning Objectives: