142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Hurricane Katrina's impact on disaster preparedness in New Orleans: Where are we now? Regional plans for hurricanes

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 1:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Avis Gray, regional administrator , Office of Public Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health, Region 1 (New Orleans), New orleans, LA
The development of a regional plan for hurricanes.  Region 1 has the largest population in the state that may have to be evacuated during a hurricane.  We also have a significant number of individuals that have Medical Special Needs. All of the parishes; Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and Jefferson have developed a regional timeline for evacuating the region.  This timeline is executed to facilitate the evacuation of all the parishes.  We meet regionally and provide assistance to each other. This change has increased collaboration and facilitates an efficient and effective movement of citizens.

This regional concept also included the development of a regional emergency operations center.  This allows us to have staff from all the parishes and other necessary departments (fire, police, utilities, public health, transportation, EMS, National Guard, etc.) to have regional over site to address issues as quickly as possible. This regional plan has made a significant impact on emergency preparedness and response post Katrina.

Learning Areas:

Program planning

Learning Objectives:
discuss the impact of an important post-Katrina local, state or national policy or practice change on emergency preparedness and response in New Orleans

Keyword(s): Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an RN MSN with a background in Hemodialysis, emergency room, outpatient surgery and ambulatory care at Charity Hospital. I graduated from Charity School of Nursing and received a Bachelors and Masters degree from University of South Alabama. In my position as the Regional Administrator, I provide support to the parish emergency response managers in all hazards activities. During Katrina I worked with Orleans parish to set up the Superdome as a regional shelter.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5174.0: Hurricane Katrina's impact on disaster preparedness in New Orleans: Where are we now?