Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Provides Funding to Local Agency to Increase Pandemic Preparedness & Awareness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2008
Contact
Julie Pryde, Acting Public Health Administrator
(217) 531-5369 /
Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Provides Funding to Local Agency to Increase Pandemic Preparedness & Awareness
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District to Create Communitywide Pandemic Planning Task-Force
Champaign, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) has received $578,000 from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to help increase pandemic flu awareness and preparedness in Champaign County. Illinois is one of only nine states and areas in the nation to receive funding for the “Collaborative Planning for Delivery of Essential Healthcare Services” project sponsored by the CDC. Other recipients include Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York City, Oregon, and Virginia.
CUPHD will use this grant to build on the outcome of its workshop with the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion / Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education that occurred in Indiana earlier this year. CUPHD plans to work with a collaboration of community partners and leaders to develop practical strategies to deliver healthcare to those at home, within the community, and in the hospital in the event of a pandemic flu. The collaboration will begin by identifying the issues and obstacles in the current healthcare system’s response and in any existing area pandemic flu preparedness plans.
“A coordinated approach among state, county and local health departments is essential to ensuring the health and safety of our communities during a pandemic influenza as well as other health emergencies.” said Dr. Damon T. Arnold, Illinois Department of Public Health Director. “The Illinois Department of Public Health was pleased to help the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District secure funding to assist with the creation of a local pandemic flu response plan, exercises and other preparedness efforts that can be applied to other communities and benefit the entire state.”
CUPHD has proposed to utilize the grant in the following ways:
- Form, support, and lead a Task-Force for Pandemic Flu Response that will plan and assist CUPHD with project activities to improve Champaign County’s response in the delivery of essential healthcare services during a pandemic.
- Plan, execute and evaluate table-top exercises with appropriate Champaign County healthcare partners to test the delivery of essential healthcare services during a pandemic.
- Contract with expert consultants to assist at least fifteen Champaign County healthcare agencies or other identified critical infrastructure entities, write continuity of operation plans.
- Contract with the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications to develop and successfully test a syndromic surveillance system specific to the needs of the Champaign-Urbana and make this application freely available to all local health departments in Illinois.
- Plan, host, and conduct a seminar in collaboration with Toronto Health Department to discuss the lessons learned from Toronto’s experience with the 2003 SARS outbreak.
- Aggressively market and conduct Town Hall meetings and community events about pandemic flu for the public to both educate and solicit public comment on pandemic flu and other public health emergency preparedness planning.
“In today’s global society, it is no longer a question of “if” there will be a full scale pandemic disaster that will affect Champaign County, but a matter of “when.’” said Julie A. Pryde, Acting Public Health Administrator. “This grant is providing an incredible opportunity for our community leaders to work together to provide a comprehensive pandemic plan. It is better to have a plan and no pandemic, than a pandemic with no plan.”
For more information on the Champaign County pandemic preparedness, basic emergency preparedness or any other CUPHD program, please contact CUPHD at (217) 352-7961 or visit CUPHD on the web at www.Stock2forFlu or www.c-uphd.org.
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