About the State of Wisconsin Public Health Preparedness Consortia

In an effort to address the increasing public health risks that may include biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health threats and emergencies, the State of Wisconsin Division of Public Health (DPH) has provided grant funding from a supplemental Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cooperative agreement to support the formation of statewide Public Health Preparedness Consortia. Consortia comprised of Local Public Health Departments and Tribal Health Centers were formed to foster cooperation between them and other relative agencies in the development and execution of emergency preparedness plans. Some of the common consortium objectives include:

• Assessing current public health capacities;
• Developing regional response plans that integrate with existing Emergency Operations Procedures (EOP);
• Ensuring around the clock (24/7) alert and notification capacity;
• Testing and exercising emergency response plans;
• Ensuring proper distribution of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS);
• Developing Mutual Aid Agreements for staffing and resource sharing; and,
  Providing and obtaining appropriate preparedness education and training.

Visit the following websites for further information about public health preparedness planning.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/

United States Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/

Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/