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L | M | N |
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S | T | U | V | W | X
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A
ACIP
-- Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices
AGO
--
Washington State Attorney General's Office
AHA -- American Hospital
Association
AMA -- American Medical Association
APHL -- Association of Public
Health Laboratories
ARC -- American Red Cross
-
ART
-- Assessment and Response Team
-
The Secretary of Health and Department of
Health's
Senior Management Team. The team assesses the severity of emergencies and manages
the Department of Health's overall
response plan.
-
- Bioterrorism
- The
intentional use of microorganisms, or toxins, derived from living
organisms, to produce death or disease in humans, animals, or plants.
- BSL-- Bio-safety Level
- A method for rating laboratory safety. Laboratories
are designated BSL 1, 2, or 3 based on the practices, safety equipment,
and standards they employ to protect their workers from infection by
the agents they handle. BSL 1 laboratories are suitable for handling
low-risk agents; BSL-2 laboratories are suitable for processing
moderate risk agents; and BSL 3 laboratories can safely handle
high-risk agents.
BT --
Bioterrorism
- Board of Health
- The Washington State Board of Health has ten members, nine of whom are appointed
by the Governor. The tenth member is the Secretary of the State
Department of Health. The membership includes people who are
experienced in matters of health and sanitation, elected officials,
local health officers, and citizen consumers of health care. The
board provides a forum for the development of public health policy
and has rulemaking authority to protect public health, improve
health status, and promote and assess the quality, cost, and
accessibility of health care throughout the state.
-
- BRAC -- Bioterrorism Response
Advisory Committee
- Committee consisting of Department
of Health partners and
stakeholders that advises the Department of Health on the creation
of its plan for bioterrorism preparedness and response.
-
-
- Category "A" Agents
- The possible biological terrorism agents having the
greatest potential for adverse public health impact with mass
casualties. The Category "A" agents are:
-
Smallpox
-
Anthrax
-
Plague
-
Botulism
-
Tularemia
- Viral
hemorrhagic fevers (e.g. Ebola and Lassa viruses)
-
CD -- Communicable Disease
-
-
CDC -- Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
-
A branch of the federal Department of
Health and Human Services. The CDC manages Washington's Cooperative
Agreement for Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism.
-
-
CEMP --
Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
-
The overarching jurisdictional emergency
plan at the state level and at most local jurisdictions.
-
-
CFH --
Community and Family Health
-
Division of the Washington State
Department of Health.
-
- COMDIS
- A Department of Health-hosted list serve that facilitates communications between
disease control specialists across the state.
-
- COOP --
Continuity of Operations
- The ability
to maintain essential operations when staff and other resources
are in short supply due to an ongoing emergency.
-
- Cooperative agreements
- Federal grants for bioterrorism
preparedness and response from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
-
- COT -- Committee on Terrorism
- A committee formed by Washington's
Emergency Management Council at the request of Governor Locke to
develop strategies to address threats and acts of terror.
-
- Critical agents
- The biological and chemical agents likely to be used in weapons of
mass destruction and other bio- terrorist attacks. Current lists may
be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Agentlist.asp
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/AgentlistChem.asp
CSB -- Center for the Study of Bioterrorism and Emerging
Infections at St. Louis University School of Health
-
-
DCD --
Disease Condition Database
-
Washington State's electronic repository for
a wide range of health data including notifiable conditions (in
development)
-
DHS
-- Department of Homeland Security.
- In 2002, 22 federal
agencies were consolidated into the new Department of Homeland
Security to help protect the nation from terrorist threats, assist in
natural disaster relief, and provide citizenship services.
-
-
DIRM
--
Division of Information Resource Management
-
Division of
the Washington State Department of
Health.
-
-
DIS --
Washington State Department of Information
Services
-
- Disaster
- A
large emergency event that is beyond the community» s ability to
address within its own and mutual aid resources.
-
-
DOH --
Washington State Department of Health
DOJ
-- Department of Justice
DSHS --
Washington State Department of Social and
Health Services
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E
- EDI -- Electronic Data
Interchange
EDTH -- Department of
Health Electronic Data Transfer Hub
- Emergency management
- A systematic program of activities that governments and their
partners undertake before, during and after a disaster to save
lives, prevent injury, and to protect property and the natural
environment. Emergency management activities include:
-
Mitigation: eliminating hazards or reducing their potential
impact
-
Preparedness: planning, training, and exercising for disastrous
events
-
Response: taking action when a disaster occurs to save lives,
prevent injuries, and prevent or limit property damage
- Recovery:
restoring normalcy after the disaster
These
activities are not the sole responsibility of the designated emergency
management agency. Virtually all agencies have a role, but most
particularly law enforcement, fire services, public works, and
public health.
EH --
Environmental Health
Division of the Washington State
Department of Health.
EHSPHL --
Epidemiology, Health Statistics and Public
Health Lab
Division of the Washington State
Department of Health.
EMA -- Emergency management
agency (local)
-
EMD --
Washington State Emergency Management
Division
-
A division of the Washington Military
Department
EMS --
Emergency medical services
-
EOC --
Emergency operations center
The facility
from which a jurisdiction
or agency coordinates it response to major emergencies/disasters -
there may be a state EOC, county EOC, city EOC and/or agency EOC.
Epi -- Epidemiology-
The scientific study of diseases; includes
analyzing the occurence and distribution of diseases and the factors
that govern their spread.
ER -- Emergency room
-
ERC --
Emergency response coordinator
Person authorized to direct implementation
of an agency's emergency response plan.
ESF --
Emergency support function
A portion of a comprehensive emergency
management plan (federal, state, or local) that describes activities
related to a single function. For instance, in Washington's
comprehensive emergency management plan (ESF-8 describes Health and
Medical Services).
Epidemiologist
A
professional skilled in disease investigation. Epidemiologists design
and conduct epidemiological studies, analyze data to detect patterns
and trends in disease, establish and maintain surveillance systems,
monitor health status and evaluate the performance and cost
effectiveness of public health programs.
F
FDA --
Food and Drug Administration
FEMA --
Federal Emergency Management Agency
-
First responders
-
Local fire, law enforcement, HazMat, emergency medical
services, and hospital emergency room personnel.
Focus areas
Categories of emergency preparedness
activities states must address in their Cooperative Agreements for
Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism. Focus areas
cover the following topics:
-
Focus Area A
:
Preparedness planning and readiness assessment
Focus Area B:
Disease detection and reporting
Focus Area C: Laboratory readiness
Focus Area D:
Chemical threat preparedness
Focus Area E:
Electronic information sharing
Focus Area F: Public health
communications
Focus Area G: Education and training
FRP --
Federal Response Plan -- The overarching
emergency management plan of the US government.
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H
- Health alerts
Urgent messages from the CDC to health officials requiring
immediate action or attention. The CDC also issues health
advisories containing less urgent information about a specific
health incident or response that may or may not require immediate
action, and health updates, which do not require action.
HAN -- Health Alert Network
Infrastructure for the secure transmission of disease
information between local health jurisdictions, the Department of
Health, and its other partners using the intergovernmental network as its
backbone.
HAN Information Service
Health Alert Network Information Service
provides information in a variety of media, along with announcements
of upcoming conferences and briefings.
HAN LHAP -- Health Alert Network Local
Health Assistance Project
The project provides helps local health
jurisdictions enhance and maintain state of the art network and
security operations, and achieve compliance with the PHIN standards.
HAZMAT -- Hazardous materials
HHS --
US Department of Health and Human Services
-
HRSA --
Health Resources and Services
Administration
-
A branch of the federal Department of
Health and Human Services. HRSA administers the
funding and implementation of Washington's Cooperative Agreement for Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness.
-
-
HSQA
-- Health Systems Quality Assurance
- Division of the Washington State
Department of Health.
I
-
ICS --
Incident Command System
-
The direction and control scheme
used by first response and other agencies to manage emergencies.
J
-
JIC --
Joint Information Center
- A central point of contact for
all news media near the scene of a large-scale disaster. The center is
staffed by public information officials who represent all
participating federal, state, and local agencies to provide
information to the media in a coordinated and consistent manner.
L
L & I --
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
- Laboratory levels (A,B,C,D)
-
A system for
classifying laboratories by their capabilities. Classifications are:
A: routine clinical testing. Includes independent clinical labs
and those at universities and community hospitals
B: more specialized capabilities. Includes many state and local
public health laboratories
C: More sophisticated public health labs and reference labs
such as those run by CDC.
D. Possessing sophisticated containment equipment and expertise
to deal with the most dangerous, virulent pathogens and include only
CDC and Department of Defense labs, the FBI, and the U.S. Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
LERC --
Local Emergency Response Coordinator
L-LERC -- Local Lead Emergency
Response Coordinator
-
LHJ --
Local Health Jurisdiction
- Washington's
public health services are delivered through 34 local health
jurisdictions.
-
- LIMS -- Laboratory Information
Management System
- LIMS connect the analytical instruments in
the lab to one or more workstations or personal computers. A
full-featured LIMS will forward data from lab instruments to a PC,
organize it into meaningful information, and arrange it in required
report formats.
-
-
LRN --Laboratory
Response Network
- A national partnership of public
health laboratories designed to coordinate and share resources for a
effective response during a health emergency.
-
-
-
MMRS --
Metropolitan Medical Response System
-
A
program of the US Health and Human Services
Office of Emergency Preparedness intended to increase cities'
ability to respond to a terrorist attack by coordinating the efforts
of local law enforcement, fire, hazmat, EMS, hospital, public health
and other personnel. Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma participate in the MMRS program.
-
- MRTE -- Medical Readiness,
Training, and Education committee
- A regional workgroup of state health agency representatives,
including one from the Department of Health, that facilitates local-state-federal
planning integration.
N
NACCHO -- National
Association of City and County Health Officials
- NCID -- National Center for
Infectious Diseases
- A branch of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
-
-
NCPHP --
Northwest Center for Public Health Preparedness
-
Located in the University of Washington
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, the center works with
the Department of Health to
assess and provide emergency and bioterrorism preparedness and
response training.
-
-
NEDSS --
National Electronic Disease Surveillance
System
-
A Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention initiative that promotes the use
of data and information system standards to improve disease surveillance systems at
federal, state and local levels.
-
-
NIH --
National
Institutes of Health.
-
A branch of the federal Department of
Health and Human Services. The NIH encourages and
oversees medical and behavioral research.
-
- Notifiable conditions
- Incidences of
communicable disease, traumatic injury, cancer or other health
condition that a state requires health care providers to report to a
central collecting agency.
-
-
NDMS --
National Disaster Medical System
-
A federal program that dispatches
out-of-state medical teams to an area that has suffered a disaster.
-
-
NPS --
National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (now
Strategic National Stockpile, SNS)
-
A national cache of drugs, vaccines, and supplies that can be deployed to areas struck by
disasters, including bioterrorism.
O
-
OER --
Office of Emergency Response
-
Division of
the US Department of
Health and Human Services.
-
- OPHP -- Office of Public Health
Preparedness
- Office within the U.S. Office of Health and
Human Services that provides coordination between the CDC and HRSA
Cooperative Agreements.
-
-
OS --
Office of the Secretary
-
Division of the Washington State Department of
Health.
P
- Pathogen
-
Any agent or organism that can cause disease.
-
-
PHIMS --
Public Health Issues Management System
-
A Web-based system that will
provide local health care agencies and providers with a secure,
confidential mechanism for reporting disease surveillance data (under
development).
-
- PHIN -- Public Health Information
Network
- Standards that provide the basis for
developing and implementing information technology projects for
CDC-funded programs including NEDSS, HAN, and others.
PHPPO -- CDC's Public Health
Practice Program Office
-
Public health regions
-
Local health jurisdictions are organized into 9 regions. Each region
will develop a plan for resource sharing and coordinated emergency
response that will align with the state emergency management plan and
will include hospitals, emergency medical services, law enforcement
and fire protection districts.
The regions, with the
lead county or health agency for each region listed first and in bold,
are:
- Snohomish
» Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan
- Bremerton-Kitsap » Clallam, Jefferson
- Thurston
» Lewis, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Mason
- Southwest (Clark, Skamania) » Cowlitz, Wahkiakum
- Pierce
- King
- Chelan-Douglas• Okanogan, Grant, Kittitas
- Benton-Franklin• Walla Walla, Yakima,
Klickitat
- Spokane
North• Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Lincoln, NE Tri (Ferry, Stevens Pend
Oreille), Whitman.
- PHEPR -- Public Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response
-
Washington State Department of Health's
overarching public health emergency preparedness and response
initiative.
-
-
PHTN --
Public Health Training Network
-
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's distance learning system that
uses instructional media ranging from print-based to videotape and
multimedia to meet the training needs of the public health workforce
nationwide.
-
- PODRS -- Provider Online Data Registry
System
- An online registry of licensed healthcare providers that have
volunteered to assist in the event of a bioterrorism attack. A
Washington State Department of Health project.
-
- Push package
- A
delivery of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals sent from the
National Pharmaceutical Stockpile to a state undergoing an emergency
within 12 hours of federal approval of a request by the state» s Governor.
PVMS
-- Prophylaxis Vaccine Management System
The state-wide system used in Washington to track
vaccine distribution and use during the smallpox vaccination effort.
-
-
R
RERC -- Regional Emergency Response Coordinator
-
RCW --
Revised Code of Washington
-
The laws of Washington State.
-
- Risk and Emergency Management
(Office of)
- Department of
Health» s lead office for emergency management planning.
S
SERC -- State Emergency Response
Coordinato
- SNS -- Strategic National Stockpile
(formerly National Pharmaceutical Stockpile)
-
National cache of drugs, vaccines, and supplies that can be deployed to areas struck by
disasters, including bioterrorism.
-
- Surge capacity
- Ability of institutions such as
clinics, hospitals, or public health
laboratories to respond to sharply increased demand for their
services during a public health emergency.
-
- Surveillance
- The systematic ongoing collection,
collation, and analysis of data and the timely dissemination of
information to those who need to know so that action can be taken.
Surveillance is the essential feature of epidemiological practice.
T
- TOPOFF --
Top Officials
- A full-scale preparedness exercise sponsored jointly by the
Departments of Justice and State.
W
-
WAPHL -- Washington
State Department of Health Public Health Laboratories
- Washington's lead bioterrorism response
public health laboratory.
WACMHC
-- Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers
-
WA-SECURES --
Washington State Electronic Communications
and Urgent Response Exchange System
-
A secure Web portal that provides public
health systems with training materials, resources and protocols for
public health emergencies. It will be extended to hospitals, clinical
laboratories, emergency management agencies and public safety
agencies. It will also be used to send rapid, and targeted health
alerts to local health entities.
-
-
WEDSS --
Washington Electronic Disease Surveillance System
- The umbrella information program
that allows the Department of Health and local health organizations
to exchange health information including, when necessary, emergency
information. WEDSS encompasses Washington's activities under the
Health Alert Network (HAN) and the National Electronic Disease
Surveillance System (NEDSS, plus information technology at the
Washington State Public Health Laboratories. WEDSS projects include:
- DCD
- EDI
- EDTH
- HAN LHAP
- LIMS
- PHIMS
- WA-SECURES
WSALPHO --
Washington State Association of Local
Public Health Officials
WSDOH --
Washington State Department of Health
WSHA -- Washington State Hospital
Association
WSPHA -- Washington State Public
Health Association
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