Public health emergency preparedness
IF YOU ARE A HEALTHCARE FACILITY SEEKING EMERGENCY SUPPLIES REGARDING COVID-19, YOU WILL NOW BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST THROUGH THE SALESFORCE PLATFORM. REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND AT THE LINK FOUND AT THE END OF THIS PARAGRAPH. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE MHOAC PROGRAM IS ONLY FOR EMERGENCY RESOURCES AND NOT TO STOCKPILE. PLEASE CONTINUE TO TRY TO PURCHASE ITEMS AS WE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON AS YOUR SOLE SOURCE OF SUPPLIES. WE WILL ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION THAT YOU HAVE TRIED TO ACQUIRE ITEMS FOR YOUR FACILITY, EVEN IF IT'S A BACKLOGGED RECEIPT. THANK YOU. PHOS REGISTRATION GUIDE
PHEP Overview
​
Kings County Public Health Emergency Preparedness (KCPHEP) is a division of the Kings County Health Department. KCPHEP plays a fundamental role in the coordination and provision of public health and medical preparedness efforts in Kings County. The division works with various partners and stakeholders to facilitate the coordination of plan development, resource management, and training efforts for the operational area related to public health and medical emergencies. Public health and medical emergencies are events, either natural or man made, which put the health of the public at risk. KCPHEP collaborates with other local governmental and private agencies to prepare, respond, and recover from these events.
MHOAC Program
​
California Health and Safety Code, Section §1797.153 states that in each operational area, the county health officer and the local emergency medical services agency administrator may act jointly as the medical and health operational area coordination (MHOAC) or appoint another individual to fulfill these responsibilities.
​
In the event of a local emergency, the MHOAC shall coordinate disaster medical and health resources within the operational area (OA), and be the Point of Contact (POC) for coordination with the Regional Disaster Medical and Health Coordinator/Specialist (RDMHC/S) Program. Each California OA appoints a MHOAC to provide 24-hour, seven day a week, single POC for disaster medical and health operations.
​
The MHOAC Program is responsible for assessing the needs for medical resources and commodities within the OA and requesting support for shortfalls through the RDMHC/S and the Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC). The MHOAC Program is responsible for coordination with MHOAC Programs in the Mutual Aid Region (via the RDMHC/S) to maintain directories of Public Health, Environmental Health, Behavioral/Mental Health, and EMS resources, including equipment, supplies, personnel and facilities, within the OA.
​
In cooperation with the county Office of Emergency Services, local public health department, the local office of environmental health, the local department of mental health, the local EMS agency, the local fire department, the Regional Disaster and Medical Health Coordinator, and the regional office of the Office of Emergency Services (OES), the MHOAC is responsible for ensuring the development of a medical and health disaster plan for the operational area and shall follow the Standard Emergency Management System (SEMS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Kings County Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Committee (KCHEPC)
​
The Central California Healthcare Coalition is comprised of the Central California EMS Agency, and four (4) county departments (Fresno County Department of Public Health, Kings County Department of Public Health, Madera County Department of Public Health and Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency). Each of the Counties has an operational area (OA) committee; Kings County’s OA committee is called the Kings County Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Committee (KCHEPC). OA committees provide organizational and emergency management expertise in their respective OA and have the following duties:
​
-
Review, provide input, and approve the plan for the annual healthcare partners disaster exercise
-
Develop, review, and propose improvements for healthcare disaster response plans, policies, and guidelines
-
Assess the level of healthcare preparedness in their respective OA
-
Make recommendations for additional healthcare preparedness, response, and recovery trainings and activities
​
More info on Healthcare Coalitions
CAHAN
PHEP maintains the Kings County CAHAN system which is available for members of the KCHEPC. The California Health Alert Network (CAHAN) is a secure web-based system accessible anytime and anywhere for emergency planning and response communication with public health partners. The Emergency Preparedness Office administers CAHAN to facilitate alerting and collaboration between Federal, State, Local County Health Departments, Clinics, Hospitals, and other public health emergency partners on a 24 x 7 x 365 basis.
​
Resources
Links
-
If you're a healthcare provider with an active license, a public health professional, or a member of a medical disaster response team in California who would like to volunteer for disaster service in Kings County, we want to hear from you. To register as a Disaster Healthcare Volunteer please visit: https://healthcarevolunteers.ca.gov/
Contact Us
For more information regarding Public Health Emergency Preparedness, please contact us by emailing KC.MHOAC@co.kings.ca.us.
​