Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement - Los Angeles County (LAC) Project Abstract Summary The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) works to protect and improve health and well-being in the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County (LAC) is home to over 9.6 million residents and was a travel destination for an estimated 50 million people in 2023. LAC is a high-risk jurisdiction for natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and terrorism. Continuous emergency events in LAC have required public health subject matter expertise and strong coordination with jurisdictional partners throughout preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery phases of various incidents. Los Angeles County has 88 incorporated cities and approximately 140 unincorporated areas. This accounts for approximately 25 percent of California’s population. Purpose: LAC DPH applies for these funds to sustain and enhance effectiveness across all 10 priorities of the CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Readiness Response Framework. LAC DPH will continue to emphasize planning for the needs of the most at-risk populations for the highest priority hazards to increase health equity, community involvement and cultural competence. LAC DPH will also continue to work with jurisdictional partners in readiness, response, and recovery planning through a systematic Whole Community Planning (WCP) process as detailed in the Collaboration section below. Through flexibility and resourceful application of lessons learned through all exercises and actual responses, LAC DPH will also strengthen the ability to respond efficiently and effectively to other, unexpected emergencies and disasters as they occur. Outcomes: Continued, systematic improvement efforts in the following public health strategies and activities will contribute to desired outcomes: • Earliest possible identification and investigation of an incident with public health impact. • Timely coordination and support of response activities with health care and other partners. • Timely procurement and expedited staffing to support public health intervention and control measures, including distribution and dispensing of medical countermeasures. • Timely implementation of public health intervention and control measures, including medical countermeasures and non-pharmaceutical interventions. • Timely communication of situational awareness and risk information to readiness and response partners within and across agencies. • Continuity of emergency operations throughout the surge of a public health incident. • Continued development of Public Health Laboratory capacity. • Continued emphasis on risk communication activities and sharing information among diverse communities. • Continued focus on workforce activities in recruitment, training, and worker safety. By utilizing a Health Equity Framework throughout all strategies, DPH will collectively work toward the following outcomes: • Established public health recommendations and control measures in place for all hazards, • Prioritized emergency public health and health care services and resources sustained throughout all phases of public health incidents, • Continued focus on health equity and continued access to public health and related services, • Better communications with increased data modernization activities, • Prevention or reduction of morbidity and mortality from public health incidents whose scale, rapid onset or unpredictability stresses the public health system, • Earliest possible recovery and return of the public health system to pre-incident levels or improved functioning.
