Public Health Emergency Preparedness

What is PHEP?

PHEP stands for Public Health Emergency Preparedness.

Your Sedgwick County Health Department’s PHEP program works to achieve several objectives for the citizens of our county:

Organizing Community Partners

PHEP collaborates with several agencies and organizations to prepare for health emergencies. These partnerships allow the Sedgwick County Health Department to guide and provide health-related support during emergencies.

Coordinating With Disease Experts

PHEP coordinates with disease experts to ensure the early detection of outbreaks. PHEP achieves this by:

• Facilitating the exchange of information between the health department and disease experts for early detection of health threats.
• Cultivating partnerships with local hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and research institutions.
• Collaborating with disease experts to facilitate timely responses to potential health threats.
• Conducting regular preparedness exercises and drills to ensure a well-coordinated response when a real emergency occurs.

Conducting Readiness Drills and Exercises

PHEP maintains and enhances readiness through regular drills and exercises conducted in collaboration with various partners. These exercises encompass a diverse range of scenarios such as infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters and chemical incidents.

Identifying Ways to Get Accurate, Breaking Information to the Public

PHEP identifies effective ways to disseminate accurate and timely information to the public during health emergencies. This infrastructure includes multiple channels such as social media, emergency alert systems, press releases and websites to ensure accurate information reaches a wide audience.

Developing Plans for Mass Distribution

PHEP develops plans for the mass distribution of medicines or vaccines when and where they are needed. Here’s how:

• Collaborating with pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to establish a streamlined process for the rapid production and distribution of medicines or vaccines.
• Identifying and establishing distribution points in the community to enhance accessibility and promote widespread coverage.
• Planning for mobile distribution units that can be rapidly deployed to provide on-the-spot administration of medicines or vaccines.
• Fostering partnerships to facilitate the efficient transportation of medical supplies.
• Addressing equity concerns in distribution to ensure that vulnerable populations and underserved communities have access to medicines or vaccines.

Planning for Urgent Interventions Like Isolation and Quarantine

PHEP takes a proactive approach to plan for urgent interventions, such as isolation and quarantine, to halt or slow the spread of diseases. This includes:

• Developing response plans for urgent interventions like isolation and quarantine.
• Collaborating with stakeholders including healthcare providers, emergency responders, law enforcement and community organizations to effectively respond to health emergencies.
• Establishing systems to disseminate clear and timely communication with the public during emergencies.
• Conducting regular training sessions and drills with stakeholders to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in an emergency.
• Planning for the allocation of resources including medical supplies, personnel and facilities.
• Continuously monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.

All these activities are funded by the federal PHEP Cooperative Agreement. Preparedness activities funded by this agreement are targeted specifically for the development of flexible, adaptable and emergency-ready local, state, tribal and territorial public health departments.

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Prepare Yourself

Take these steps today to ensure the health and safety of you and your loved ones if disaster strikes:

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Urgent Sedgwick County Community Health News

Keep up to date with the latest Sedgwick County news including announcements about public health emergencies or considerations for the county here:

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Important Resources from Our Partners

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Volunteers for a Stronger, More Prepared Sedgwick County

Would you like to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies? We are looking for volunteers both medical and non-medical. Learn more about our Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).