Community\'s Emergency Response: Monroe County, New York

Community's Emergency Response

Monroe County, New York

The relevance of an effective and well formulated emergency response plan cannot be overstated. This is particularly the case given that today, unlike was the case a few decades ago, the United States is a key target of extremist groups seeking to advance their twisted agenda. Events such as the 9/11 terror event and the Anthrax Attack remind us that preparedness and disaster management are key.

In this discussion, I focus on Monroe County's response to pandemic influenza. As per the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan of the county, response, on this front, "begins when there is a real threat or a perceived threat" (Office of Emergency Management, Monroe Country, 2009).

Weakness 1: Integration of Health Facilities into Disaster Response Operations

To begin with, Monroe County's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan does not take into consideration or identify the need to integrate health facilities such as clinics and hospitals into disaster response operations. There is no mention whatsoever of strategies in place to activate an efficient link between incident command, emergency management units, and health facilities so as to synchronize important data; including, but not limited to, patient numbers, injuries, and response measures being implemented.

As per the Arlington County after-action report (AAR) on the response to the September 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, it was found out that during the first few hours of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attack, "there was little information relayed from the scene to the hospitals about patient flow…" (Florida Division of Emergency Management, 2014). Indeed, as some hospitals and medical representatives pointed out, the transportation of patients from the disaster scenes was largely unplanned and disorganized. This goes to show just how important it is to rope in hospitals and other health facilities into disaster response operations. In that regard, therefore, Monroe County's emergency response plan ought to identify the need for synchronized efforts between all critical stakeholders during mass casualty events.

Weakness 2: Communication

Although the County's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan recognizes that "public awareness and risk communications will be vital in successfully implementing cohesive and coordinated response," the country does not have in place trained standby technicians to handle emergency communications (Florida Division of Emergency Management, 2014). Further, there is nowhere in the plan that there is a provision highlighting a communications strategy for emergency responders during emergency situations. In the final analysis, therefore, Monroe County's emergency communication system and media relations plan is weak.

At the minimum, the relevance of having in place effective, well planned and coordinated communication systems cannot be overstated. Essentially, one of the key lessons learnt during the 9/11 terror attacks is that a clear and well formulated emergency communications plan and " media relations plan is essential to get accurate information out to both family members of victims and the general public, & #8230;and to ensure that the presence of media does not interfere with evacuation and rescue efforts…" (U.S. Department of Justice -- Office of Justice Programs, 2013). As it has been pointed out in the Arlington County after-action report (AAR) on the response to the September 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, communication systems were busy even before the crash at the Pentagon (Florida Division of Emergency Management, 2014). This is more so the case given that the nation was already occupied with the World Trade Center attack, with numerous calls being made by individuals to their loved ones and associates to enquire about their safety. As a matter of fact when the impact at the Pentagon occurred, all area communications systems as it has been pointed out in the Arlington County after-action report (AAR) out were jammed.