Is your practice prepared to respond in an emergency?

Primary care centers are vital sources of both healthcare and support services to their communities at all times and are often most trusted during an emergency because of their strong ties with the community, its culture and needs.

Since 2005, PCDC's Emergency Preparedness Program has trained more than 2,000 health workers at 68 primary care practices to respond immediately and effectively in the event of an emergency. These practices act as a frontline source of care and information for more than 500,000 patients and are especially critical when hospitals or emergency rooms are overwhelmed.

Click here for our Emergency Preparedness brochure.

What We Do

Our Emergency Preparedness program has increased preparedness levels by 40 and 50 percent, on average, at community health centers, adult and long term care facilities, residential and day programs, and special needs providers.

Through the program, practices engage in an intensive nine-month training program where you will learn essential skills in emergency management to prepare your practice and integrate its efforts with overall regional planning. Practices will learn to:

• Identify the roles and responsibilities of staff during emergencies and establish emergency command structures
• Standardize and document response procedures and identify essential resources to respond effectively
• Plan, conduct and evaluate real-life drills, such as patient surges and outbreaks, to quickly diagnose and triage patients
• Survey, track, and report patient data to health agencies
• Develop stronger partnerships with key response agencies and neighborhood organizations

Program Impact

Improves Emergency Response for Practices: PCDC-trained primary care practices are among the most prepared in the country to respond to emergencies. Many act as Points of Dispensing sites (PODs) to vaccinate as many people as possible for H1N1 to help offset emergency room overcrowding and reduce the effects of a pandemic.

Improves Community Response: PCDC's emergency preparedness clients benefit from partnerships and planning sessions with surrounding hospitals, neighborhood organizations, city/state public health and emergency management agencies. By facilitating communication and partnerships among these organizations, communities are empowered to develop community-wide response plans that protect a larger number of residents and businesses.

Promotes Business Continuity: PCDC works with practices to both increase a health center's visibility and prepare them to stay open during an emergency, assuring that the most vulnerable populations can receive care in a culturally and linguistically appropriate setting. Staying open also preserves critical revenue- a site closing can cost a practice between $10,000 and $30,000 daily.