Checklists on legal preparedness for public health emergencies.Legal preparedness is an integral part of comprehensive preparedness for public health emergencies. To assess existing legal preparedness, state health departments have made extensive use of the draft Model State Emergency Health Powers Act The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA) is a proposal by the Center for Law and the Public's Health, a joint venture of Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University, to aid America's state legislatures in revising their public health laws to, as proponents put (MSEHPA MSEHPA Model State Emergency Health Powers Act ), researched and written in December 2001 by the Center for Law and the Public's Health at Georgetown and John Hopkins universities in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ) and other national public health partners. Although MSEHPA has been widely introduced and passed in states, state and local public health agencies need additional tools to assess public health emergency legal preparedness. Following consultation with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Association of County and City Health Officials, CDC requested the Center for Law and the Public's Health to prepare checklists on three critical topics in public health emergency legal preparedness: * Interjurisdictional Legal Coordination for Public Health Emergency Preparedness In the United States government, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (or ASPR), formerly the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (or OPHEP), is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. . * Local Government Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness and Response, and * Civil Legal Liability Issues and Public Health Emergencies. These checklists are intended for voluntary use by public health agencies (at all levels of government) in assessing their legal preparedness for public health emergencies. Each checklist includes opening commentary on the background, methods, organization, and suggested uses for each document, and features two principal sections: 1) a "Quick Reference" that lists relevant questions and 2) a detailed checklist with explanatory comments provided for each question. Content is macro-organized according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the four phases of incident management addressed in the National Response Plan: Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. Center personnel prepared the checklists through a deliberative de·lib·er·a·tive adj. 1. Assembled or organized for deliberation or debate: a deliberative legislature. 2. Characterized by or for use in deliberation or debate. process that included legal research and analysis of agencies' functional roles in public health emergencies, review of public health emergency preparedness plans, and communication with public health practitioners and legal counsel. The principal authors are Jason W. Sapsin, J.D., M.P.H., James G. Hodge, Jr., J.D., L.L.M., and Lance A. Gable gable Triangular section formed by a roof with two slopes, extending from the eaves to the ridge where the two slopes meet. It may be miniaturized over a dormer window or entranceway. , J.D., M.P.H. All three checklists are accessible through the center's Web site at www.publichealthlaw.net/Resources/BTlaw.htm. The checklists are in the public domain and may be duplicated and disseminated freely. The center welcomes information and feedback on the checklists and their application. For additional information, please contact James G. Hodge, Jr., J.D., L.L.M., the center's executive director, at jhodge@jhsph.edu. |
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