Preemptive Protection for Your Community

The mission of the North Central Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness is to protect the health of the population by preparing district and health department personnel and community partners to respond to emergencies of public health significance. The North Central Health District will coordinate the health and medical response to any emergency or disaster within the thirteen-county district.

The Office of Emergency Preparedness takes this responsibility seriously and works throughout the North Central Health District to increase public health preparedness to respond to emergencies and disasters that may impact the health of the population. This is achieved through:

• overall planning and preparedness
• public information and risk communications
• training of public health employees and key partners
• hospital community organization emergency preparedness and response

Public Health and the GEOP

The Georgia Emergency Operations Plan (GEOP) gives Public Health the primary responsibility for Emergency Support Function (ESF) 8 “Public Health and Medical Services” response. Public Health is a supporting agency for ESF 6 “Mass Care, Housing and Human Services”. Public health professionals may be called upon for many tasks including diagnosing and containing the spread of disease, responding to areas where people may have been exposed to infectious or harmful materials, providing medications or vaccinations to protect the general public, or providing health professionals to support mass care operations such as shelters.

Your Emergency Preparedness Team

The Office of Emergency Preparedness includes an Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Training Coordinator, Risk Communicator/Public Information Officer, and Program Associate. The Office of Emergency Preparedness is provided additional support from environmental health specialists, epidemiologists and nurses, as well as other professionals from the health district and community.

The Office of Emergency Preparedness recognizes that building inter-agency relationships is essential to effectively responding to an emergency. To aid the health district in disaster response, the Office of Emergency Preparedness has established partnerships with several agencies at the local, state and federal levels.

If you would like more information about the North Central Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness, call 478-751-3029 or email the Emergency Preparedness Director.

Learn about our related emergency preparedness services