The Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Emergency and Trauma Service (BETS) is organized within the IDPH Division of Acute Disease Prevention, Emergency Response and Environmental Health. The Bureau is managed by Rebecca Curtiss and reports to the Division Director, Ken Sharp.
Purpose: BETS seeks to enhance the state’s ability to rapidly mobilize and respond to public health emergencies identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Iowa is writing this application to be pre-identified and pre-approved to receive funding for a HHS Secretarial declared and non-declared public health (PH) emergencies of such magnitude, complexity, or significance that it would have an overwhelming impact upon, and exceed resources available to Iowa.
Outcomes: Program activities are designed to prevent or reduce morbidity and mortality from public health incidents whose scale, rapid onset, or unpredictability stresses the public health system and ensure the earliest possible recover and return of the public health system to pre-incident levels or improved functioning. Short term outcomes include:
¿ The earliest access to available funds for additional personnel, education, technology and communications to manage emergency operations for crisis response.
Strategies and Activities: IDPH will use funds to focus on the following strategies and conduct these activities for the public health system:
¿ Strengthen Incident Management for Early Crisis Response
¿ Strengthen Jurisdictional Recovery
¿ Strengthen Biosurveillance
¿ Strengthen Information Management
¿ Strengthen Countermeasures and Mitigation
¿ Strengthen Surge Management
Our incident management processes will ensure IDPH can respond to a public health event or crisis and support the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management by leading ESF #8 Public Health and Medical response. IDPH has a strong countermeasure and mitigation response role to ensure our residents have access to pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions and to protect the health and safety of our public health responders.