Page 15 - Creating a Community of Resiliency

Background: Protecting Our Children—The Importance of Child Care in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) established an Emergency Preparedness and Response Program (EPRP) to “prevent and mitigate the public health consequences of natural or intentional emergencies for Los Angeles County residents through threat assessment, planning, improved operational readiness, and timely response.”1 In 2011 the EPRP launched the “Pilot Project to Improve Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness of Child Care Networks in Los Angeles County” to strengthen the preparation for and response to public health emergencies. In 2012 the Child Care Emergency Preparedness and Response project was designed to expand on the 2011 pilot project. The 2011 pilot evaluation included the following recommendations:
1. ContinuetopartnerwiththeChildCareAllianceofLosAngeles(CCALA)on preparedness issues including their coordination of seasonal flu vaccination clinics.
2. SupportongoingeffortsbytheCCALAagenciestoengageproviderswithhealth information concerning vaccination and emergency readiness.
3. Provide capacity building and support to CCALA to improve their role as convener, coordinator, and a source of support to the CCALA agencies.
4. EstablishCCALAasrecipientofcommunicationandnotificationfromLACDPH during a pandemic or other public health emergency.
The Potential for Major Disasters in Los Angeles County
A major disaster is defined as any emergency event—weather-related, topological, biological, or human-made—that overwhelms the resources of the affected community. Los Angeles regularly experiences natural and human-made emergency events that are potential disasters: earthquakes, wildfires, high winds, floods, landslides, disease, hazardous material releases, terrorism, civil unrest. For example, the California Geologic Survey estimates a 67% probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in Los Angeles over the next 30 years. 2 Los Angeles also has potential for epidemics. For example, in 2011 Los Angeles experienced its second-highest pertussis incidence in over 50 years.3 This led to the requirement for all 7th–12th grade students to have a Tdap vaccination starting in July 2011 in order to attend school the next fall. Furthermore, the RAND Corporation includes Los Angeles among the 50 urban areas most likely to become a terrorist target.4 These threats—along with wildfires, floods, power outages, lockdown situations as well as other potential hazards and threats— strongly suggest the need for a diverse skill set in emergency preparedness and response.
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