For immediate release: Contact: Crissy Rowland
January 18, 2007 270-781-8039 ext. 120
BARREN RIVER DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENT EARNS RECOGNITION
FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
One of Seven Agencies in U.S. Honored as “Public Health Ready”
Bowling Green, Ky. (January 18, 2007)– Barren River District Health Department is one of only seven local health departments and regional partnerships nationwide to achieve recognition today for being ready to face bioterrorism events, new epidemics, natural disasters, and other public health emergencies.
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) honored the agencies as part of Project Public Health Ready, conducted by NACCHO with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NACCHO has been issuing the honors annually for the past three years.
The achievement demonstrates excellence in three areas: planning for emergency preparedness, developing a competent workforce, and conducting exercises that simulate emergencies and give communities a chance to practice and evaluate their response. Each applicant has to meet all of the Project Public Health Ready requirements to receive this recognition.
Also receiving recognition were local health departments and regional partnerships based in Benton Harbor, Michigan; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Flagstaff, Arizona; Hartford, Connecticut; Tompkinsville, Kentucky; and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin departments serve regions that cut across county lines, while each of the three other agencies serves a single city or county.
“This community is a leader in emergency preparedness—in public health, in public safety, and in other disciplines. Still, the most important factor in determining whether we succeed in responding to an emergency will be the actions of our citizens in advance planning, cooperating with authorities, and helping each other in a time of duress,” said Dennis Chaney, Director for Barren River District Health Department.
NACCHO’s executive director Patrick Libbey, who announced the names of the recognized agencies, said, “Each of these agencies is a model of public health preparedness.” He added, “Each of these seven agencies has shown exemplary leadership and multi-pronged achievement in the hard work of emergency readiness.”
The agency applied for the honor, submitting a detailed set of materials. Applications were reviewed by a panel of local health officials, local public health agency staff, and representatives of a number of national public health organizations besides NACCHO.
A total of 134 health departments have received Project Public Health Ready recognition in the three years of the project. That includes 38 individual local health departments and seven regional partnerships consisting of 96 local health departments, There are approximately 3,000 local health departments in the United States.
"Project Public Health Ready was a yearlong process in which BRDHD had the chance to collaborate with regional partners and national organizations. We are proud of the hard work and dedication that was involved with this project, and will strive to maintain our recognition in the upcoming years,” said Amanda Bogard, Disaster Response Coordinator.
For more information on Project Public Health Ready, including a complete listing of all recognized sites, visit www.naccho.org/topics/emergency/pphr.cfm or visit www.barrenriverhealth.org.
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