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Emergency officials work constantly to be better How prepared is New Jersey for public health emergencies?

Press of Atlantic City - 4/26/2017

When a public health emergency hits, such as a widespread disease outbreak or a natural disaster, New Jersey is better prepared than many others to effectively care for its residents, according to a new national report.

The National Health Security Preparedness Index, published by the Princeton-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found New Jersey falls within the national average of public health emergency preparedness, but the state lags most of its Northeast neighbors.

"You can see other states' measures and ask, 'What is Pennsylvania doing to get a little better? What is Vermont doing to have the highest score in nation?'" said Alonzo Ploughs, chief science officer and vice president for research and evaluation at the foundation. "We hope it creates a learning community."

New Jersey scored a 6.8 out of 10 in the report, which looked at states' protocols to address disease outbreak, emergency communication and coordination plans, laboratory testing, public information warnings, medical and mental health access and other measures related to public health.

While the state's score isn't as high as others, many policies, programs and protocols were put the test when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the coastline in October 2012. Ploughs said while good plans and foundations were in place at the time, the natural disaster served as a learning experience for everyone.

"There were a lot of vulnerabilities discovered in the Northeast after Sandy," he said. "There are things we're much more aware of, like the location of elderly housing. We discovered generators were in the basement of hospitals that were flooded. They were lessons the Northeast took to heart to address."

Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Ocean counties had some of the hardest-hit areas from the storm. Martin L. Pagliughi, Cape May County emergency management coordinator, said the near miss of Hurricane Irene in 2011 helped the county improve on its preparedness plans before Sandy was a blip on the radar.

Shelters set up to house nearly 800 people were already in place when the 2012 hurricane hit, and those plans were refined after the storm, Pagliughi said. The county is in the middle of building a $6.2 million central dispatch center to more effectively coordinate emergency services in large-scale events.

Daniel Regenye, public health coordinator and health officer at the Ocean County Health Department, said after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, more federal and state funding became available to improve and develop public health responses and foundations.

Ocean County had shelter plans in place prior to Sandy that worked, but with any natural event like that, Regenye said, everyone gets together to talk about what went right and what could be better. Those discussions led to better shelters for rest, medical needs and animals, too.

Natural disasters are some of the more obvious public health emergencies, but state and country experts have to prepare for events such as bad flu outbreaks, spread of infectious diseases, lead exposures, radioactive contaminations and other biological emergencies.

Pat Diamond, public health officer for the Atlantic County Health Department, said the county and state have to be extra diligent with surveillance programs and laboratory testing to identify any outbreaks or spikes in disease cases that could lead to larger emergencies if not quickly addressed and contained.

Most counties, including Atlantic, also have a group of medical professionals that make up a Medical Reserve Core, which is often called in to help in public health emergencies, and routine prevention programs such as flu clinics and public information education events.

Diamond said the county will work with neighboring county experts like Regenye to create collaborative plans that would help people in several areas during an emergency. Experts said they continue to make new plans and improve on old ones to be better prepared for anything.

"Our reports have really gotten a lot better to help people think about how can we put together a range of things that make states or communities prepared for disasters from earthquakes to Ebola," Ploughs said. "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when."

Contact:609-272-7022 NLeonard@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressNLeonard