Involvement of State Offices of Rural Health in Emergency Preparedness Activities
This project followed up with the state offices of rural health (SORH) to identify their current involvement with emergency preparedness in rural areas, particularly in the use of funds earmarked for bioterrorism preparedness. In 2002, the federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) released its report on emergency preparedness in rural communities as perceived by directors of state offices of rural health. Results of this study indicated that although many of the state offices of rural health were participating in planning, office respondents in a number of states were concerned about their state's lack of resources for preparedness in rural areas. State directors expressed concerns over rural hospital workforce shortages and whether hospital and public health infrastructure capacity was adequate for meeting preparedness needs. Since release of this report, billions of dollars have been used by the states to strengthen their capacity to respond to bioterrorist threats and other emergencies resulting from terrorism. While general guidelines have been issued to assist state personnel with preparation of plans for use of these funds, whether funds are to be explicitly targeted to meet rural needs depends on decisions by personnel in the states.
Walsh Center staff re-surveyed rural offices of the states and re-visited issues that were raised in the earlier ORHP survey. Roles of the offices were identified and information on the extent of office resources devoted to bioterrorism preparedness were collected. Activities and roles of the most- and least-involved state offices were compared. A report and Policy Brief will be prepared for distribution to policymakers and persons on the Center mailing list.
Publications
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Attention from the Top? Roles of State Offices of Rural Health Policy in Preparing for Bioterrorism and Other Health System Emergencies
Author(s): Curt D. Mueller, A. Ketchel, L. Silver
Date: 07 / 2006
Presents results from a follow-up survey of directors of state offices of rural health on emergency preparedness in rural communities. A telephone survey was used to identify state office involvement with emergency preparedness (EP) activities. Findings indicate that the nature of involvement varied considerably across states. Among the most pressing needs were for improvements in communication and for additional EP training, especially for EMS and hospital personnel. Most offices were involved in activities related to development of an emergency preparedness response plan encompassing the state (71 percent) or development of a plan for regions within the state (55 percent). Over half of state office directors reported involvement in assessment of training needs of emergency personnel and in assessing EP of rural hospitals. Almost half of state offices participated in assessment of rural public health system preparedness capabilities. Sixty-one percent of offices assisted in development of capabilities for the electronic exchange of information among health care providers and public health officials serving rural areas, and 48 percent of rural offices were engaged in activities in support of development of a system for receipt of urgent reports or information by providers on a 24-hour-7-day basis.
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