The response to Hurricane Katrina: Iowa's interstate cooperation and lessons learned.* For two weeks in September 2005, six environmental public health professionals from Iowa were deployed to Louisiana. * The response was coordinated through Iowa and Louisiana Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States and Emergency Management. * The mission was to work directly with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH LDHH Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals ). * Upon arrival, the Iowa team met with representatives of LDHH, the Louisiana Rural Water Association, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and Region 6. * Food safety and protection of public and private water supplies were identified as top priorities. * The Iowa team immediately began sampling water and conducting assessments of commercial seafood and retail food establishments. * But they quickly learned that there were also health and sanitation sanitation: see plumbing; sanitary science. issues at shelters for victims and responders. * Inspection of mass shelter facilities quickly became a critical environmental health function. * The shelters had a high volunteer turnover rate and overflowing o·ver·flow v. o·ver·flowed, o·ver·flow·ing, o·ver·flows v.intr. 1. To flow or run over the top, brim, or banks. 2. To be filled beyond capacity, as a container or waterway. 3. volume of victims. * Local contacts who were not part of the official response were found to be important resources. * Church groups, local business, and other private organizations can help. * Environmental health staff must recognize that these resources are vital in an effective response effort. * As with almost every emergency response effort, communication and disaster planning disaster planning - disaster recovery were the weakest components. * The experiences in Louisiana have influenced emergency-planning efforts across Iowa. * Currently, references to environmental health response actions are scattered Scattered Used for listed equity securities. Unconcentrated buy or sell interest. throughout the Iowa Emergency Response Plan. * The Iowa Environmental Health Response Team is working on creating one document that emergency response personnel can easily access to learn about the role of environmental public health. * The team has asked local environmental public health jurisdictions to create their own response plans and to work with emergency managers to incorporate those plans into their multihazard plans. * The biggest mistake environmental public health practitioners can make is not getting involved with emergency response planning efforts. |
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