Disease Control & Prevention Division
Emergency Preparedness Office
| Mission
Goals
Save the Date: Operation Sunrise On July 25-26, 2008, we will be hosting Operation Sunrise. This 36-hour-long medical surge exercise will be held at California State University, Channel Islands. (See Operation Sunset, below, to learn about what happened at our 2007 exercise.) Be Ready for Disasters! In a recent national Ad Council survey, 91% of Americans agreed that some simple actions could help them protect themselves and their families in an emergency. But, only 54% of Americans have taken even one of the three recommended emergency preparedness steps. "Ready America" ["Listo America" en Español] lists three main things you can do to be ready for an emergency: Special Concerns Women and Babies During Disasters "Women's Health" provides special health information for women and offers information to help women be prepared for a disaster at their Disaster or Emergency Preparedness Plan for Women web site.
People with Special Needs Do you have, or does a loved one have, special needs that could cause extra problems during a disaster? Please visit this Vulnerable Populations Preparedness website for tips and tactics on what you can do to be able to survive a disaster. Check their links too! What We're Doing to Prepare for Disasters Being prepared for emergencies and disasters is the single most important thing we can do to protect our communities, ourselves and our loved ones. Read this Personal Preparation Checklist to preparing for disasters or pandemics. To learn more about what Ventura County Public Health has done to prepare for health-related disasters, and things you can do yourself, open or download our Disaster Preparedness presentation. Distributing Vaccines During Disasters In a health-related disaster, we may need to get vaccinations or medications to huge numbers of people in a short time. We'll set up Points of Distribution sites at across Ventura County, but they may not be enough to get mass medications out quickly as needed. To help solve this problem, our "Mass Prophylaxis Plan" allows agencies that serve vulnerable populations as well as private businesses with large numbers of employees and schools to sign on to pick up vaccines for clients or patients and staff and their families. This will speed distribution of vaccines in our communities. To participate in this plan, download the Mass Prophylaxis Agreement. For more information, send an email to, or call Dr. Daniel Jordan at 805-981-5258. Preparedness Exercises The Emergency Preparedness Office conducts training exercises in the community. On November 16, 2007, we held a Drive-Through Flu Vaccine Clinic at Moorpark Community College. This activity achieved two goals: We provided hundreds of flu vaccinations and also got to practice one of the things we would do in the case of a large-scale pandemic flu outbreak. Operation Sunset. We conducted a 24-hour medical surge exercise July 24-25, 2007 entitled "Operation Sunset." This large-scale event was designed to test Ventura County's ability to set up and respond to a medical disaster that would involve in a huge increase in the number of people needing medical care. How Well Are People in Ventura County Prepared? Understanding how well people are prepared in Ventura County is important to understanding the kinds of problems we'll face if a disaster strikes. Working with California Lutheran University, the Emergency Preparedness Office conducted a study of the readiness of people in Ventura County communities to respond to a variety of disasters, including terrorism events. The report and the PowerPoint presentation are available below.
Other Useful Resources Useful information resources are available at the following web sites.
More information is available on the Ventura County Health Care Agency's Directory of Services web site for the Emergency Preparedness Office. Contact Information: |
Special Events & Announcements Emergency
For Ventura County Employees Only: |
