Section II--Organization and Coordination Issues (From Bioterrorism in the United States: Threat, Preparedness, and Response, P 151-203, 2000, Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute, -- See NCJ-201421)

• NCJ Number: 201424
• Date Published: November 2000
• Length: 53 pages
• Contract Number(s): 200-1999-00132
• Sponsoring Agency: Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
• Corporate Author: Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute (CBACI)
• Sale Source: Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute (CBACI)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded July 31, 2003.

Annotation

This paper identifies and discusses the major issues involved in organizing and coordinating a national effort among a disparate group of responsible agencies and organizations at the Federal, State, and local levels to prepare and activate the public health and medical system in a response to a bioterrorism attack.

Abstract

The issues discussed are the nature and success of preparedness efforts of Federal, State, and local entities; the need to develop a strong partnership between the private and public sectors; and the structure and organization of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) bioterrorism preparedness and response program. Among the issues discussed regarding the nature and success of preparedness efforts of Federal, State, and local entities are the top down approach of Federal planning; issues of coordination; the Office of Emergency Preparedness; the clash of cultures (differing perspectives of public safety and public health occupations); the incident command system; the integration of the public health and medical communities; and the integration of State and Federal assets. In discussing the partnership between the private and public sectors, the paper considers the following general issues: developing a public and private dialog on issues of common concern, understanding differing motivations and perspectives, cooperatively defining roles and responsibilities, and addressing burden-sharing issues. A discussion of key industry sectors in the public-private partnership focuses on hospitals and medical care providers, the print and electronic media, the pharmaceutical and medical supply industry, and information technology and telecommunication. The paper concludes with a discussion of the features of CDC's Office of Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program (BPRP). This includes a delineation of issues that pertain to the BPRP's and the CDC's current strategy for building bioterrorism preparedness, their internal organization and structure, and how each of these has influenced the current state of preparedness. Recommendations and possible next steps are proposed.