Implementation of NIMS, asset typing, and strike teams by the Florida Department of Health

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Thomas Belcuore¹, William Little, MPH², W. Michael Reid, PhDl, MBA³, Danielle C. Landis, PhD, MPH³, and Michael L. Haney, PhD⁴. (1) Alachua County Health Department, Florida Department of Health, 224 Southeast 24th Street, Gainesville, FL 32641, 352-334-7900, thomas_belcuore@doh.state.fl.us, (2) Sarasota County Health Department, Florida Department of Health, 2200 Ringling Bouleveard, Sarasota, FL 34237, (3) Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, College of Public Health, Tampa, FL 33612, (4) Children's Medical Services, Florida Department of Health, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A06, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1707

National policy documents now require that the National Incident Management System (NIMS) be adopted at the national and state level for preparing and responding to natural and manmade disasters. Significant elements in the NIMS are the incident command system (ICS) and strike teams. This paper describes the use of NIMS by the Florida Emergency Management System during Hurricanes Charley (2004) and Katrina (2005). Incident command systems were used in the response to each by the Florida Department of Health and other agencies. The activation of ICS following Hurricane Charley was for instate response. One of the activations of ICS following Hurricane Katrina was in response to a request from the State of Mississippi. The ICS operation following each hurricane is described, showing best practices and highlighting the distinctions between intrastate and interstate deployment. The paper also describes the implementation of the strike team concept by the Florida Department of Health, which calls for creation of specialized groups containing personnel with specified training and certification. The Department created a process for definition of strike teams in several areas, including special needs shelters, epidemiology, environmental health, and behavioral health. The paper summarizes the components of one of the strike teams (epidemiology), the required training for the members of the team, and the methods for assuring they are certified.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, the participant in this session will be able to

1. Describe the incident command system used by the Department of Health in Florida.
2. Compare the operation of Florida’s incident command system within Florida and in Mississippi.
3. Summarize the characteristics of Florida’s epidemiology strike team.

Keywords: Public Health Infrastructure, Emergency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Planning, Implementation and Responses to Bioterrorism and Pandemics

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA