Public Health Preparedness Emergency Planning

Emergency planning at the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County (DOH-Pinellas) is organized and managed by the Public Health Preparedness (PHP) program. The goal of these activities is to make sure Pinellas County is prepared to take action against bioterrorism, disease outbreaks, and other emergencies that affect the health of the people of Pinellas County.

The key planning activities below give an overview of efforts by DOH-Pinellas to be fully prepared to assist the residents and visitors of Pinellas County.

Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Planning

The PHP Program plans, trains, and facilitates exercises to assure readiness upon the request and receipt of Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) assets.

The SNS is a logistical resource to supplement requirements for medicine and medical supplies at the location of a disaster or terrorist event. The SNS increases the preparedness capability of local agencies to respond to an event. DOH-Pinellas trains and exercises for the use of SNS materials with county emergency response agencies to ensure efficiency and cohesiveness among partners.

For more information on the SNS, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website. 

Cities Readiness Initiative

The PHP Program has been chosen as the coordinating entity for the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) Program. The CRI program aids cities in increasing their capacity to deliver medicines and medical supplies during a large-scale public health emergency such as a bioterrorism attack or a disease outbreak. The CRI program will help save lives through the timely delivery of medicines and medical supplies to the Pinellas County population within a timeframe that will make an appreciable health difference in the event of a public health emergency.

For more information on the CRI program, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.

Pandemic Influenza

PHP coordinates the planning and educational efforts for the response to pandemic influenza for all of Pinellas County. PHP monitors the situation of the Avian Influenza outbreak throughout the world, as well as other emerging infectious diseases. Disaster Plans, educational presentations, strategic meetings, the development of exercises, and after action reports are all activities of the PHP program. Contact the PHP program for more information.

For more information on pandemic influenza, including helpful planning tools for individuals, business, and health care facilities, visit PandemicFlu.gov.

For more information on planning specifically for employers, visit the following site by OSHA: OSHA.gov/Pandemic-Influenza

For more information about: Pandemic Influenza 

Special Needs Shelters

In s. 381.0303, the Florida Department of Health (DOH), through its county health departments, is the designated lead agency for coordination of the recruitment of health care practitioners to staff special needs shelters in times of emergency or disaster and to provide resources to the department to carry out this responsibility. Agencies and organizations in the community have the responsibility to the special needs population and should have input into the design (addressing the four phases of emergency management - preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation), activation (pre-storm), operation (during storm) and deactivation (post-storm) of the Special Needs Shelter. These organizations and agencies include, but are not limited to the local Pinellas County Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), American Red Cross, home health care agencies, hospice organizations, extended care living facilities, oxygen and durable medical equipment providers, and others.

The three special needs shelters in Pinellas County are:

• John Hopkins Middle School
• Oak Grove Middle School
• Dunedin Highlands Middle School

For more county information about hurricanes, visit: Pinellas.gov

Additional Information

• Hurricane Information
• Bioterrorism Readiness