Public Health

Public Health Emergency Preparedness

CNA is a national leader in supporting emergency preparedness activities for public health agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. Our work spans the preparedness cycle, including planning and training, assessing capabilities, developing preparedness metrics, and designing and conducting public health exercises. Real-world public health issues inform our work, including our experience with the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the discovery of ricin in the office of Senator Bill Frist, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Haiti earthquake, and the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

► Public Health Emergency Preparedness - White Paper (View pdf)

Featured Projects

Medical Surge Capacity and Capability Handbook

Medical and public health systems in the United States must prepare for major emergencies or disasters involving human casualties. Such events will severely challenge the ability of healthcare systems to adequately care for large numbers of patients (surge capacity) and/or victims with unusual or highly specialized medical needs (surge capability). The first step in addressing medical surge and medical system resiliency is to implement systems that can effectively manage medical and health response, as well as the development and maintenance of preparedness programs. The Medical Surge Capacity and Capability (MSCC) Management System describes a management methodology based on valid principles of emergency management and the Incident Command System (ICS). Medical and public health disciplines may apply these principles to coordinate effectively with one another and to integrate with other response organizations that have established ICS and emergency management systems (e.g., fire service, law enforcement), promoting a common management system for all response entities—public and private—that may be brought to bear in an emergency. In addition, the MSCC Management System guides the development of public health and medical response that is consistent with the National Incident Management System.

► Medical Surge Capacity and Capability: A Management System for Integrating Medical and Health Resources During Large-Scale Emergencies (View on line • View pdf)

MSCC Healthcare Coalition Handbook

This handbook was developed to serve as a companion to Medical Surge Capacity and Capability: A Management System for Integrating Medical and Health Resources during Large-Scale Emergencies, also known as the MSCC Handbook. The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidance to healthcare planners on how to develop, implement, and maintain cost-effective and response-oriented Healthcare Coalitions. It describes the common elements of an effective Healthcare Coalition that may be applied in any locale to operationally support individual healthcare organizations and the larger community response to emergencies or disasters.

► Medical Surge Capacity and Capability: The Healthcare Coalition in Emergency Response and Recovery (View on line • View pdf)