Our mission is to advance the practice of public health through developing, implementing and disseminating innovative tools, technologies and training in the area of public health preparedness. We share these promising practices with practitioners in our region and throughout the country.

One of the three Advanced Practice Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1999, the DeKalb County Board of Health continues to advance local and national public health practice in preparedness and emergency response. We develop innovative, practical solutions to our community's needs, serve as a technical resource to neighboring localities, and disseminate our lessons and promising practices nationwide through publications, trainings and cutting-edge products. The staff's experience, network of partners and diverse array of projects help to ensure our success.

Over the past four years, the Center for Public Health Preparedness has evolved into a group of experts adept at identifying our community's preparedness needs, leading collaborative community-based efforts to meet those needs and implementing solutions that have been adopted by other local public health agencies.

1999
October
CPHP established.

2000
January
Board of Health emergency powers outlined and interpreted by county attorney.

February
First tabletop exercise. Began planning process and bioterrorism plan development.

May
Conducted assessment of physicians' knowledge of bioterrorism.

June
Developed methodology to determine critical pharmaceutical inventory.

September
Tabletop exercise with local hospital.

October
Completed West Nile virus response plan. Hosted media training exercise for public health professionals.

2001
February
Continued West Nile virus efforts and education.

May
Hosted media training exercise for public health professionals. Pilot tested Statewide Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SENDSS).

August
West Nile virus arrived in DeKalb County. Finalized Bioterrorism Response Plan.

September - December
Disseminated Bioterrorism Response Plan compact discs.

October
First suspicious package episode in DeKalb County. Developed bioterrorism 101 training video for clinicians - distributed to hospitals in Georgia through district health directors.

October - December
Conducted more than 70 presentations on public health preparedness issues.

2002
May
Developed Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) concept.

July
Worked on the development of the forensic epidemiology curricula. Formation of mental health working group.

August
Hosted the National Health Policy Forum (affiliated with George Washington University) for a congressional staff site visit.

September
SORT pilot project began.

October
Conducted mock smallpox vaccination clinic exercise.

November/December
Developed smallpox vaccination clinic guidance document.

December
Voluntary smallpox vaccination program began. Disseminated smallpox vaccination clinic guide to local public health agencies.

2003
April
Developed collaborative leadership case study for Northwest Center for Public Health Preparedness - Public Health Leadership Institute.

June
Readiness Report newsletter began.

September
National Environmental Health Association Sabbatical in British Columbia, Canada.

October
Re-applied for funding to support Center for Public Health Preparedness, received $600,000 grant.

December
Public Health Foundation / National Association of County and City Health Officials mentoring project. CPHP was selected by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to receive a grant of approximately $600,000 to continue our work as an Advanced Practice Center for bioterrorism preparedness.

From 1999-2003, financial support for the DeKalb County Board of Health Center for Public Health Preparedness was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, award number U90/CCU417691.

In December 2003, we were selected by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to receive a grant of approximately $600,000 to continue our work as an Advanced Practice Center for bioterrorism preparedness.