Strokin said, "It’s true, keeping that level of vigilance makes it a bit more difficult when we haven’t had a storm, because people think, ‘Oh we haven’t gotten one for a while, maybe it’s not coming, or the threat is exaggerated.’ But we prepare every year, throughout the year, like the next big one is coming. We maintain our training and our planning efforts with the expectation that even if one hasn’t happened in the past 10 years, this could be the year that it does."

 

Yanckowitz agreed. "It’s been a number of years since anything significant or impactful has happened, but all of the agencies and the weather services work together to put out a message that it only takes one, and it doesn’t have to be a very busy year (with hurricanes) to impact our community."

 

Strokin said much of Miami-Dade County’s focus "is on workforce development, so that everyone is aware of their roles, they have been trained and are comfortable in what the expectations are." Those roles include special needs shelter staff. Strokin explained, "We have the responsibility of staffing the shelters that are opened by the office of emergency management that deal with the vulnerable populations in the county. Those who have signed up on the emergency evacuation registry would be assisted at that point."

 

She pointed out that the preparedness takes place all year long, not just during hurricane season. "Twice a year we work with Miami-Dade County’s office of emergency management to call those people on the registry to make sure that they still need assistance and to get as much information as possible." She added that they do special needs shelter operation training every year, going through everything from the paperwork needed to make sure the people are properly registered, and also properly discharged; to the nurses, to make sure that while they are taking care of the clients, they are staying safe themselves, and know what they need to make sure they are doing things properly.

 

Yanckowitz said, "DOH-Broward places a significant amount of time and effort making sure we have a well-trained and prepared workforce. We also focus on the public health infrastructure; a lot falls under the public health umbrella." He said when something like a hurricane occurs, "Our effort is to get our public health system up and running again. In addition to being responsible for the medical staffing of special needs shelters, we want to make sure our hospitals are staffed and able to receive patients, and that anyone who needs care is able to receive care, which includes EMS agencies being able to respond and transport to hospitals. We want to make sure pharmacies are open and stocked so folks can get their medicines. There are a lot of moving pieces to the puzzles during any kind of an activation."

 

The preparation for the all-hazards planning – which Yanckowitz said does not always focus on one particular type of disaster, e.g., a hurricane – involves key players in various disciplines who meet regularly and talk about each agency’s response plans. "We train and conduct disaster drills with each other, so that when something happens we know what the other agencies will be doing and the expectations are clear. The planning, training and exercising are a continuous cycle for all the agencies, including the Florida Department of Health. Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities quite well when something happens."

 

He continued by saying, "We are fortunate to have a very strong relationship with Emergency Management and other health and medical partners so that we can protect the public’s health during an emergency."

 

While hurricane season is considered to be between June 1 and November 30, both Strokin and Yanckowitz pointed out that Tropical Storm Ana already hit the area in May. "We had a tropical storm before the hurricane season officially began," Yanckowitz said, "so it can happen outside hurricane season."

 

No matter when a storm or other disaster occurs – or whether it’s the "big one" – be assured that the health departments are prepared.